The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said that it has filed a prosecution case against Kiran Jagdish Patel before a special court in Srinagar, over a year and a half after he was arrested for impersonating a Prime Minister’s Office official.
On October 28, the Ahmedabad resident was the subject of a prosecution case filed by the ED’s Srinagar zonal office in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Patel was initially taken into custody by the Srinagar police in March 2023 for allegedly misleading the entire civil and security administration into believing he was a PMO official, obtaining a false Z-plus security cover and travelling to high-security regions like the India-Pakistan border before the Budgam collector exposed his cover.
In a statement released on Saturday, the ED stated that the court had accepted the prosecution’s claim and that Patel had been given notice to appear in court on November 11.
An FIR against Patel and others for offences under numerous provisions of the Indian Penal Code was filed by the Nishat police station in Srinagar, which served as the foundation for the ED’s probe.
According to the ED, its investigation showed that Patel, a conman, had fabricated or printed fake visiting cards to hide his identity in order to advance his illegal objectives of deceiving people and making money off of crime. Patel also posed as the Additional Director (Strategy and Campaigns), PMO.
According to the statement, “he not only illegally obtained security from the administration of the UT of J&K Government by using the aforementioned fake visiting cards and impersonation, which has resulted in a loss of resources and monetary loss to the state exchequer, but he also deceived gullible Gujarat-based businessmen and secured/got undue advantages by making a false promise to provide business opportunities in the Valley of Kashmir.”
In a search operation under the PMLA on May 19, 2023, the ED seized electronic devices and incriminating papers or information from many locations connected to Patel and others.
Also Read: Prof CV Ramakrishnan Is No More
