SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir police handed over conman Kiran Bhai Patel to Gujarat police on Wednesday, following a local court’s order to transfer him to the police team of the Ahmedabad city crime branch for investigation in a fraud case, as per official sources.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar, Raja Tasleem, issued an order stating that “the accused Kiranbhai @Bansi son of Jagdishbhai Patel aged 48, residing at A-17, Prestige Bungalow, Nr Jiviba School, Ghodasar, and Ahmedabad City Gujarat was produced through video conferencing. After hearing and from the perusal of all material available on the CD file, I believe the submissions made by the Ld AAP and Inspector of Police Mr. M.M Solanki carry much weight and at the same time seem to be just proper and appealing.”
According to the order, “the custody of the accused namely Kiranbhai @Bansi son of Jagdishbhai Patel aged 48, residing at A-17, Prestige Bungalow, Nr Jiviba School, Ghodasar, Ahmedabad City Gujarat is changing from FIR No 19/2023 of police station Nishat to FIR No 1119011230073/2023 of DCB police Station Ahmedabad city, Gujarat.”
Kiran Patel has been handed over to a five-member police team of Gujarat police after completing medico-legal formalities. “The application was presented by Inspector of Police M.M Solanki, of Crime Branch, Ahmedabad Gujarat,” said official sources. They added, “the police team has left for Ahmedabad by road and further process of investigation will start in a graft case registered by Ahmedabad Crime Branch once they will reach.”
According to official sources, Kiran Patel was being held in judicial custody in Jammu and Kashmir for allegedly impersonating an Additional Director of the Prime Minister’s Office and receiving benefits. The Gujarat police had requested a transfer warrant, which was subsequently granted by a local court in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, Kiran Patel’s wife, Malini Patel, was taken into custody by the Gujarat Police in connection with a cheating case registered against the couple by Jagdish Chavda, brother of a former Gujarat minister. Malini Patel was arrested in Jambusar town of Bharuch district, with the FIR being filed against the couple on March 22 under sections 406, 420, 170, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, said the Ahmedabad Crime Branch.
According to police, as authorities started investigating the Patel family, Jagdish Chavda approached the police to register a case against them. Kiran Patel had allegedly claimed to work at the PMO and co-own a popular cafe in Ahmedabad, as well as being involved in building renovations.
Last year, the couple convinced Chavda to spend on renovating his bungalow in the Shilaj area that he was trying to sell. While renovation work was ongoing, the couple allegedly moved into the bungalow, even putting up their own nameplate, and organized a housewarming ceremony. When Chavda confronted the couple, they left, but promised to return the ₹35 lakhs he had paid for the renovation.
However, in August last year, Chavda received a notice from an Ahmedabad court for a civil suit filed by the Patels claiming ownership of the property. Chavda is the brother of Jawahar Chavda, who exited the Congress to join the BJP and was a minister in a previous government when Vijay Rupani was chief minister.
During questioning, Malini Patel allegedly told the police that her husband and brother-in-law, Manish Patel, previously operated a travel agency in Ahmedabad that ran into losses. The police said that she underlined that she wasn’t aware of what her husband does for a living and that they carried out some renovation work in Chavda’s bungalow and also invited some guests for ‘Vastu Puja’ when the owner was away, according to the police statement.
The statement added that Kiran Patel, his wife Malini, and their two daughters traveled to Jammu and Kashmir on holiday in October last year and February this year and stayed at a five-star hotel from where he was arrested on March 2.
Apart from the bungalow case, Malini Patel is also named as an accused, along with her husband and brother-in-law, in a fraud case in which a resident of Naroda, Rahul Parmar, alleged that they convinced him to become a part of their business of renting cars to the Vadtal Swaminarayan temple. According to the FIR registered in 2019, Parmar alleged that he and his friends gave the Patels 16 cars worth ₹1 crore in 2017 but did not get back the vehicles or his share of the profits.
Kiran Patel has been booked in four other cases of fraud, including an FIR lodged against him by a group of farmers on August 27, 2019, at Bayad police station, according to the police statement.
It was the first Srinagar-based news agency, Kashmir Dot Com, that broke this story: “Srinagar police, in a high-profile case, have arrested this conman, a resident of ‘Gujarat,’ allegedly by forged means posing as Additional Director (Strategy & Campaigns) Prime Minister’s Office, New Delhi, at Hotel Lalit in Srinagar on specific input received by CID wing of J&K Police.”
The imposter had taken the J&K administration and security structure for a ride by securing a Z-plus security cover, a bulletproof Mahindra Scorpio SUV, official accommodation at a five-star hotel, and a lot more.
A court in Srinagar has also ordered a “preliminary inquiry” into an application by Danish Hassan Dar, a resident of Rambagh Srinagar, alleging defrauding of Rs 18 lakh by three persons, including Kiran Bhai Patel.
Pertinently, on March 29, the government ordered an inquiry into the various aspects related to the visits of Kiran Patel and has asked the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir to submit a detailed report within a week. (KDC)
