Alleged conman Kiran Patel brought from J&K to Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: A Gujarat police team on Saturday brought conman Kiran Patel to Ahmedabad from Jammu and Kashmir where he was arrested for allegedly posing as a senior PMO official.

Patel was handed over to Gujarat police late Thursday afternoon after its request for his custody was granted by the court of the chief judicial magistrate in Srinagar, an official said.

Patel was brought to the crime branch headquarters in the early hours of Saturday by road from Srinagar, the official said.

Four First Information Reports (FIRs) related to cheating have been registered against Patel in different police stations in Gujarat, including one by the Ahmedabad crime branch for trying to usurp a senior citizen’s bungalow.

Patel was arrested by J-K police from a five-star hotel in Srinagar last month for allegedly posing as an ‘additional secretary’ in the Central government and enjoying security cover, besides other hospitality.

He was on his third visit to the Kashmir valley when he was nabbed by alert security officials on March 3. Patel had claimed to have been given a mandate by the government to identify buyers for apple orchards in south Kashmir.

Subsequently, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch registered a case of cheating against him and his wife Malini Patel on March 22 for allegedly trying to usurp a senior citizen’s bungalow.

While Malini Patel was arrested recently, a team of Ahmedabad Crime Branch went to Jammu and Kashmir a few days ago to take Kiran Patel’s custody.