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two companies of Kiran Patelthe alleged fraudster in Gujarat He was arrested in Srinagar in March on charges of impersonating an official in the Prime Minister’s Office, is now being used by J&K Police as prosecution witnesses in the case against him. The Deputy Commissioner of Pulwama and SSP Security were also named as witnesses.
In the bill of charges against Patel, the police listed among the witnesses Amit Hitesh Pandya and Jai Sivji Sitapara, the two accomplices who were initially questioned for their alleged involvement in the fraud.
The indictment was filed at the Chief Justice Court, Srinagar, on 2 May.
Amit Pandya is the son of Hitesh Pandya, a former PR extra in the Chief Minister’s office of Gujarat, who resigned after the fraudster was arrested.
Kiran Patel at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. (pti/file)
Police sources told the Indian Express that both Pandya and Seetabara were questioned in Srinagar when Patel was arrested on March 3. They were allowed to leave for Ahmedabad on March 7, while Patel remains in Srinagar Central Jail.
The charge sheet accuses Patel of “use of security protocol/government vehicles” and “impersonation and fraud”. On multiple visits to Kashmir, Patel allegedly masqueraded as an additional Director of Strategy and Campaigns in the Prime Minister’s Office.
According to the indictment, Patel’s main motive was to make money by facilitating contracts “through his contacts with officials in Jammu and Kashmir”. It claims that he will receive “a commission of 2-3% of the total value of the project from the businessmen”.
Alleged videos of Patel surveying the glacier slopes of Gulmarg with a crowd of armed security personnel around him and a convoy of vehicles accompanying him weaving through one of the valley towns have been widely circulated across social media platforms. (video screengrab/@bansijpatel/Twitter)
The charge sheet also says that by providing the security cover, Patel wanted to “show his influence over his connections and businessmen to easily persuade, induce and deceive them into thinking he was very well connected with the bureaucrats” at J&K.
The police cited statements by Pandya and Sitapara to build their case against Patel. “Both the witnesses have debunked in their testimonies accusations against (Patil) of deceiving/deceiving both of them with deceptive means and willful misrepresentation by saying that he will use his influence with the bureaucrats in Jammu and Kashmir to help them expand their business in Kashmir.”
During the investigation, the document says, “The confiscated mobile phones of accused A1 (Patil), along with PW4 (Sitapara) and PW5 (Pandya) were sent to FSL Gandhinagar, Gujarat for data extraction and collection of electronic evidence.
Police confirmed that Patel had visited Kashmir three times prior to his arrest for questioning.
According to the indictment, Patel introduced himself to Trilok Singh, who the sources said was an RSS employee, as an IAS officer working in PMO. He had handed Singh a visiting card with these credentials and claimed that he had “been given some government assignment by the Prime Minister for the smooth conduct of elections in Jammu and Kashmir”. Singh is also a witness in the case.
Former Deputy Pulwama Commissioner Basir ul-Haq Chowdhury and SSP security Sheikh Zulfiqar Azad were both named as witnesses. Chowdhury was transferred in the latest bureaucratic shake-up on April 27 and appointed as Managing Director of Kashmir Power Distribution Company Limited. Azad still holds the same position.
According to the charge sheet, the security protocol that was extended to Patel led to “a loss to the state treasury”. Fuel charges during his ‘tourism programme’ alone amounted to Rs 44,521.
While analyzing Patel’s call detail records, the charge sheet says, “It has also revealed that a person, Piyush Kantibhai Vasita (laborer and vice-salesman of Akanksha Creation Gujarat computer store) was in contact with him all the time” over the phone since January 2023. However, the report says, Facita’s involvement is still under investigation.
Patel was first questioned at a five-star hotel, where he was staying, on 3 March. “The accused was unable to prove/justify his position/position in the said PMO office,” the charge sheet states. During his interrogation, Patel, “on the pretext of using the bathroom, tore up some visiting cards which he had”. The police confiscated the torn visiting cards.
After questioning, calls were made to “senior high ranking officers” in other offices in the country to ascertain Patel’s allegations but no record of any such PMO official was found, the charge sheet states.
Patel has been booked under IPC Sections 419 (Fraud by impersonation), 420 (Fraud and soliciting dishonest delivery of property), 468 (False with intent to defraud), 471 (Using a forged document or genuine electronic record), 170 (Impersonation) public servant), and 120b, criminal conspiracy. In addition, Sections 3 and 5 of the Emblems and Names Act 1950 were also invoked.
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