New Delhi: He introduced himself as the Additional Director (Strategy & Campaign) in the Prime Minister’s Office, moved around in a bulletproof Scorpio with full security cover and four escort vehicles and went around snubbing senior officers for being ‘lax’, even threatening to get them transferred.
For over four months, ‘Dr’ Kiran J. Patel, a conman from Gujarat had a free run in Jammu & Kashmir, hoodwinking senior officers of the J&K Police and civil administration, including IAS officers. He allegedly visited strategically sensitive border areas of Uri near the Line of Control (LoC) under full security cover and enjoyed the UT’s hospitality vis-à-vis a stay at the Lalit Grand Palace hotel located in Srinagar’s posh Gupkar road area.
Interestingly, Patel posted reels and photos of his ‘VVIP visits’, along with his security cover, on his Facebook and Instagram accounts during all his visits. According to police sources, his cover was finally blown when Budgam Deputy Commissioner Syed Fakharuddin Hamid became suspicious of Patel’s credentials and alerted seniors in the security grid.
“Patel was put under surveillance on 26 February, after an input was received that a suspicious person was seen enjoying a Z-plus security cover, with a bulletproof Mahindra Scorpio vehicle, paramilitary double escort and personal security officers (PSOs),” a J&K Police source told ThePrint. The source added that during one such visit to a tourist resort in Doodhpathri, Patel allegedly “snubbed the officers there for not doing their work properly” and even “threatened to get the DC (Deputy Commissioner) shifted”.
“He had a government ID and also a PMO visiting card with him with all his details, which were then found to be forged,” said the source.
Patel was finally arrested on 2 March when he arrived in Srinagar on his fourth visit since November 2022, police said. According to the FIR, a copy of which was accessed by ThePrint, Patel has been booked for forgery, impersonation and cheating.
“A fraudster named Kiran Bhai Patel resident of Gujarat by virtue of criminal intention indulged in activities in Kashmir valley and by employing high degree forged means, he impersonated himself as a senior government official of India,” read the FIR.
The FIR added that Patel, “by resorting to cheating, forgery and impersonation has duped gullible people and also intentionally induced people to do and also to omit to do activities under a well-knit plan for securing monetary as well as material benefits”.
The office of the J&K Lieutenant-Governor has ordered a high-level inquiry into the security breach. Officials are also being questioned on how J&K Police’s security wing granted security cover to a person without thorough verification of his credentials.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the J&K Police said Patel was arrested after the police received information that he had checked into Lalit Grand Palace. “SSP Srinagar immediately sent a team to the hotel and the arrest was made,” the statement said.
It added, “The particulars of this person were found as Kiran Bhai Patel who was impersonating himself (sic) as Additional Director (Strategy and campaigns) PMO New Delhi. As his replies were found suspicious he was taken to police station Nishat wherein he admitted his crime.”
According to the police, they seized 10 fake visiting cards and two mobiles from him. The J&K police also confirmed that there are three cases registered against Patel in different police stations in Gujarat.
ThePrint contacted the office of Kashmir Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Vijay Kumar for comment but did not get a response at the time of publication. This report will be updated when a response is received.
Also Read: Forged Sitharaman’s signature, fake govt documents — Delhi Police arrests 4 for duping people
‘PhD from Virginia, engineer, thinker’
A preliminary investigation into the case revealed that this is not the first time Patel allegedly impersonated a senior officer to get benefits. He was earlier arrested in Gujarat for a similar offence and was out on bail, said a second source in the J&K Police.
When the matter came to light, it was also found that Patel — in his earlier visits to Kashmir — had also allegedly met a number of senior officers by posing as a representative of the PMO on the pretext of “boosting business and development in Kashmir”.
Moreover, he even promised “postings” to several officers, claiming he had a say in “transfer and posting decisions”.
“It was found that many bureaucrats also made courtesy visits to him,” a third police source told ThePrint.
Patel, who also has a blue-tick verified account on Twitter, introduces himself as “PHD (Commonwealth University Virginia), MBA (IIM TRICHY), M.Tech (Computer Science), B.E. Computer (LD Engineering, Thinker, Strategist, Analyst, Campaign Manager”.
In several of the pictures he posted on Instagram, Patel can be seen posing in front of the iconic Clock Tower at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk and along the banks of the Dal Lake. He also posted videos of himself in a black bulletproof Scorpio with escort vehicles in tow.
(This is an updated version of the report)
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: ‘Chief justice calling’: How Bihar IPS officer ‘conned’ DGP into withdrawing liquor case