Srinagar, April 3: A city court has ordered preliminary enquiry into an application by a Srinagar resident alleging that he has been cheated of Rs 18 lakh by Gujarati conman Kiranbhai Patel, who posed as a PMO official and enjoyed state protocol in Kashmir prior to his arrest in March.
The court of City Judge Srinagar observed that from the contents of application as well as from the material on record, it appears that the complainant has been cheated by the accused and his two accomplices. On false pretensions he has been made to pay an amount of Rs 18 lakhs in two installments at Pratap Park Srinagar and Chai Jai restaurant in Srinagar.
“In view of the nature of allegations levelled against the accused, it appears that cause of justice will be served if the concerned police station is directed to conduct detailed preliminary enquiry before formal investigation for veracity of the facts projected in the application,” the court said.
It directed the Station House Officer (SHO) Police Station Kothibagh to conduct preliminary enquiry in the matter and submit a detailed report before it by or before the next date of hearing on April 15.
The two other persons named in the complaint are Shailesh Jain and Piyush Jain, both residents of Kolkata.
The complaint Danish Hassan Dar, son of Ghulam Hasan Dar of Rambagh Srinagar said that the Gujarati conman Patel at that time identified himself as Chetan Prakash of Begumpur, North-west Delhi, and projected himself as managing partner at the particular company dealing in areca nuts.
Dar alleged that he paid Rs18 lakhs in two installments following the interactions with conman Patel at Pratap Park Srinagar and at the Chai Jai restaurant last year.
Patel was arrested on March 02 for posing as a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office. He had managed to get Z-category security protocol during his visits to the Valley and attended several official meetings. Patel had also visited many sensitive areas, including the Line of Control in the Uri sector.
Pertinently, on March 29, the government ordered inquiry into the various aspects related to the visits of “Shri Kiran Patel” who conned the security establishment in J&K into believing him to be a PMO official and enjoyed five star protocol “brazenly” for a considerable period of time prior to his arrest.
The inquiry is being conducted by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and he is required to submit a report within a week.
