Senior Gujarat CMO official Hitesh Pandya quits over son’s ‘links’ with ‘conman’ Kiran Patel

Hitesh Pandya, 73, who was additional Public Relations Officer (PRO) in Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel's office, resigned late Friday evening.

Hitesh Pandya, former additional public relations officer, Gujarat CMO | Twitter: @HITESHPANDYA

New Delhi: Weeks after alleged conman ‘Dr.’ Kiran J. Patel from Gujarat was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir for posing as a high-ranking official from the Prime Minister Office (PMO), Hitesh Pandya, a senior official in the Gujarat Chief Minister’s office, resigned Friday evening over his son’s alleged links with Patel, according to reports. 

‘Conman’ Kiran J. Patel and his team, including Amit Hitesh Pandya, son of Hitesh Pandya, and Jay Sitapara, deceived Jammu and Kashmir Police and other senior officials, including IAS officers, for over four months, according to The Indian Express. Patel pretended to be an Additional Director (strategy & campaigns) and allegedly visited strategically sensitive border areas of Uri near the Line of Control (LoC) under full security cover. 

While Patel was arrested on 2 March, Pandya and Sitapara, were let go after questioning as the police believed the two residents of Gujarat could have “fallen into the trap of the conman,” a police officer told NDTV last week.

While Hitesh Pandya, the additional public relations officer (PRO) in the Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel’s office, earlier denied any wrongdoing by his son, he resigned late Friday evening following this controversy. 

“I have tendered my resignation to the Chief Minister (Bhupendra Patel). Nobody asked me to resign. I felt I should resign. I will wind up my pending work by March 31 and be relieved from the office”, Patel told The Indian Express. 

ThePrint tried reaching Gujarat BJP chief spokesperson Yamal Vyas via calls but did not receive a response. The report will be updated as and when a response is received.

Working in the Gujarat CMO since 2001, 73-year-old Pandya has had one of the longest tenures and has served under 5 Gujarat CMs, including Keshubhai Patel, Narendra Modi, Anandiben Patel, Vijay Rupani and Bhupendra Patel, according to reports. Initially, he was appointed as assistant public relations officer (PRO) and was then appointed as the additional PRO.

Amit Pandya, 43, deals in home security appliances like CCTV cameras through his firm Safe Solution, according to the former senior Gujarat official. Amit was the convener of the BJP’s social media in Gujarat’s North Zone but was relieved of his duties earlier this year, according to Pandya. 

Pandya denied any knowledge of the Chief Minister’s Office having links with Kiran Patel. However, he recognised that the alleged conman was connected with the Nation First Foundation (NFF), a private organisation he founded in 2011 to further spread the ideas of the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.

On his son’s links with the conman, Pandya said that both were working in a publicity company in 2004 and that he knows Patel as Amit’s friend. “He (Amit) is a businessman. If you think that a person can get you business, why would you break the relationship,” Pandya told The Indian Express.

However, their relationship changed after Amit suffered a ‘rare heart condition’ and Patel visited him in the hospital, Pandya said, adding that their contact increased significantly, and Patel invited Amit to Kashmir to aid him with his work. 

According to Pandya, “After getting to know about the case (from Amit), I immediately informed the Chief Minister (Bhupendra Patel) and others who I felt needed to be informed.”