New Delhi: A former director general (DGP) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has held the UT administration responsible after reports surfaced of a Gujarat-based conman allegedly tricking the police and the civil administration into believing that he was attached to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Former DGP Shesh Paul Vaid said the J&K Police acted vigilantly and should not be blamed for the security lapse. Taking to Twitter, Vaid said that action should be taken against concerned civil servants who directed the police to provide security to Patel.
According to the procedure, the individual seeking security writes to the chief secretary, marking the request to the DGP. The DGP then conveys it to the additional director, general security, for further action. The security cover is finally provided by the SP, security.
Kiran Patel, a conman from Gujarat, allegedly claimed to be a director in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and visited sensitive areas near the LoC with Z-plus security. He was finally arrested on 2 March when he arrived in Srinagar on what was his fourth visit to the UT since last November.
Vaid added that the procedure of giving security to visiting officials includes correspondence addressed to the chief secretary and it wasn’t done in this case.
“Procedure involves proper official correspondence addressed to the state Chief Secretary, with a copy to DGP and ADG Security for providing security to visiting officials from New Delhi which in this case has clearly not happened. The blame lies with the senior civil officer heading the district in the Kashmir Valley and not the Jammu and Kashmir police,” he tweeted.
Vaid added that the J&K CID and Kashmir Zone Police acted vigilantly and arrested Patel and his associates before something major could have happened.
“It needs proper investigation and he should be punished under relevant provisions of law. Concerned civil officers who directed the police for providing security should be departmentally proceeded against. This could have posed a huge security risk,” he said.
Patel allegedly posed as the ‘Additional Director (Strategy & Campaign)’ at the PMO by carrying a fake government ID card and visiting card, according to the police. An FIR was registered against Patel for forgery, impersonation and cheating.
The FIR said that Patel “by resorting to forgery, 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 J&K Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha has ordered a high-level inquiry into the security breach. Officials are also being questioned on how the police’s security wing granted security cover to a person without a thorough verification of his credentials.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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