Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested a man who was posing as a top official of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The conman, identified as Kiran Patel, son of Jagdish Patel, a Gujarat resident posed as Additional Director ‘Strategy and Campaign’, in the Prime Minister’s office. By deceiving the administration, he also managed to obtain Z-plus security cover, a bulletproof SUV, and official accommodation at a five-star hotel in Jammu & Kashmir. Kiran Patel was reportedly staying at the Hotel Lalit in the valley.
The fraudster, however, was arrested on March 3 after the Jammu and Kashmir police received information about him. A case has been registered against the accused at Nishat police station under sections 419, 420, 467, 468, and 471 IPC of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to the FIR, “the said individual has intentionally induced people to do and omit to do activities, under a well-conceived strategy for getting monetary and material gains, by using deceit, forgery, and impersonation to dupe gullible people.” Security personnel have seized fake identification cards of “PMO” from his possession.
According to reports, the ‘fraudster’ visited a number of locations in Kashmir, including Doodpatri in the Budgam district of central Kashmir. An SDM rank officer was with the “fraudster” when they arrived at Doodpathri.
Even some of the IAS officers were in awe of Patel as he was dropping names of high-ranking bureaucrats and political leaders in New Delhi, according to reports. Patel said that he had been assigned a mandate by the government to identify buyers for apple orchards in south Kashmir.
It’s interesting to note that the ‘conman,’ Kiran Patel, claims to hold a Ph.D. from Commonwealth University in Virginia, an MBA from IIM Trichy, an M Tech in Computer Science, and a BE in computer engineering as well.