JK govt to take action against officers involved in providing protocol to Gujarati conman: JK police

On Sunday, Jammu and Kashmir Police said that action will be taken against the officers involved in facilitating undue protocol to Gujarati conman Kiran Patel.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday said that action will be taken against the officers involved in facilitating undue protocol to Gujarati conman Kiran Patel who was arrested last week. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that a case has been registered and investigations are being conducted in a professional manner.

"Police should not provide security on verbal directions to anyone, and we do not do it. We are checking the lapse which has happened. Action will be taken against the officer involved in this," Kumar said, adding that the incident is not an intelligence failure but negligence.

Kiran Patel, a resident of Gujarat, posed as Additional Director (Strategy and Campaigns) in the Prime Minister’s Office, New Delhi was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on March 3 in Srinagar. He has visited Kashmir four times since November 2022 and each time was provided Z category security and official protocol by the police and administration.

Patel was remanded to juridical custody for 15 days by a local court in Srinagar. He was arrested from a five-star Lalit hotel in Srinagar and a case has been registered against him for forgery and cheating. Police said that three cases are already registered against fraudster Patel in different police stations in Gujarat for cheating.

Patel, who has a verified Twitter account, shared videos and pictures of his visits to tourist places like Gulmarg, and Doodhpathri in Kashmir on Twitter and Instagram. On Twitter, Patel is followed by BJP Gujarat general secretary Pradipsinh Vaghela. In his Twitter bio, Patel claims to have a Ph.D. from Commonwealth University, Virginia, an MBA from IIM Trichy, as well as an M Tech in Computer Science and BE in computer engineering.