Cops to reach Ahmedabad with conman Kiran Patel early Saturday: Official

AHMEDABAD: A team of the Ahmedabad Crime Branch will reach here around 2am on Saturday with alleged conman Kiran Patel who was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir for posing as a senior PMO official, said police.

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.

“Patel is being brought to Ahmedabad by road. Our team has already reached the Gujarat – Rajasthan border. The team will reach our headquarters here at around 2:00am,” a senior Crime Branch official said late Friday night.

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 back to take his custody.

Four First Information Reports (FIRs) related to cheating have been registered against Patel in different police stations in Gujarat, the official said. (PTI)