Man posing as PMO official in Kashmir sent to judicial custody, three cases against him in Gujarat
Srinagar, Mar 17: Kiran Bhai Patel, who posed as a PMO official and got the requisite perks, including a bulletproof car and scores of security personnel, had three cases registered against him in his home state Gujarat, police said on Friday.
He was arrested here on March 3 but his deception that tricked security forces of the high security zone that is Jammu and Kashmir has come to light only now. Patel was in police custody until Friday and has now been sent to jail for 14 days, officials said.
The story of the alleged conman from Gujarat unravelled earlier this month when he visited Kashmir for the third time, each time passing himself off as Additional Director (Strategy and Campaigns) Prime Minister's Office, New Delhi.
Three cases under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including cheating, forgery and breach of trust, dating back to 2017 are registered against him in police stations in Ahmedabad and Baroda, police said.
Purported videos of Patel surveying the snow slopes of Gulmarg with a posse of armed security personnel around him and of a convoy of vehicles accompanying him weaving through a Valley town have been circulated widely across social media platforms.
He had even visited the last post at Uri in north Kashmir, posing for pictures at a bridge treated as a Line of Control between India and Pakistan.
In a statement, police said the CID wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police gave information on March 2 about the arrival of an impersonator who had checked into the Hotel Lalit Grand in Srinagar.
Detailing what had happened, the statement said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rakesh Balwal sent a team to the hotel. He was identified as Kiran Bhai Patel, son of Juddesh Bhai Patel, a resident of Ahmedabad. He was questioned but his replies were found to be suspicious and he was taken to a police station in Nishat close by where he made a confession, police said.
Ten fake visiting cards and two mobiles were seized from him.
According to police, Patel held several meetings with Jammu and Kashmir bureaucrats, selling them dreams of boosting apple production, engaging youth in national building and holding seminars to give a fillip to the horticulture industry.
However, everyone asked Patel to come through official channels for the earmarking of funds for the so-called projects being offered by him, officials said.
He has cases filed under various IPC sections for cheating and forgery at the Nishat police station.
During an earlier visit, Patel travelled to Gulmarg, claiming the government had tasked him to look at improvement of hotel facilities in the area, officials said.
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Relief to Mayawati, SC disposes of 2009 PIL against installation of her statues in UP
New Delhi, Jan 15: In a relief to BSP supremo Mayawati, the Supreme Court on Wednesday disposed of a petition filed in 2009 seeking a probe into the alleged spending of more than Rs 2,000 crore from the Uttar Pradesh government's budget on installing elephant statutes and personal glorification, when she was the chief minister of the state.
The development came on a day Mayawati turned 69.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma disposed of the petition filed by two lawyers -- Ravi Kant and Sukumar -- after observing that most of the prayers had become infructuous.
It noted that the Election Commission (EC) has already issued guidelines on the issue and that a stay on the installation of the statues cannot be granted as those have already been installed.
The public interest litigation (PIL) matter filed by the lawyers had alleged that a total amount of about Rs 2,000 crore was used from the state's budget for 2008-09 and 2009-10, when Mayawati was the chief minister, for installing her statues and the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) poll symbol -- elephant -- at different places.
The petition, filed through advocate Prakash Kumar Singh, had claimed that the installation of 60 elephant statues at the cost of Rs 52.2 crore was not only wastage of public money but also contrary to circulars issued by the EC.
On April 2, 2019, Mayawati had justified her decision and told the apex court that the construction of her life-size statues and the BSP's poll symbol at various places in Uttar Pradesh during her tenure as the state's chief minister represented the "will of the people".
She had told the court that even the Congress, in the past, installed statues of its leaders, including those of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao, across the country.
She had also referred to recent instances of installation of statues by state governments, including a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, known as the "Statue of Unity", in Gujarat.
Besides, the BSP supremo had said the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government has constructed a 221-metre-high statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya at the state exchequer's cost.
"Thus, construction of memorials and installation of statues was not a new phenomenon in India," she had submitted.
"Similarly, other political parties in power at both the Centre as well as in states have also installed statues of various other leaders at public places at the cost of the public exchequer from time to time, but neither the media nor the petitioners have raised any questions with respect to them," she had said in an affidavit filed in the court.
The Dalit leader was responding to a notice issued by the top court and its oral observations. The court had, on February 8, 2019, observed that Mayawati should deposit the amount of public money used for erecting statues of herself and her party's poll symbol with the state exchequer.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister had sought the dismissal of the plea, which had alleged that public funds were misused, saying it was "politically motivated" and was in gross abuse of the process of the court.
"The will of the people was expressed by the state legislature with a proposal to install the statues of the answering respondent (Mayawati) at the memorials to show their respect to a contemporary woman Dalit leader, who has decided to sacrifice her life for the cause of the underprivileged communities, including Dalits, the downtrodden, Scheduled Tribes and economically weaker sections in all the communities," the 2019 affidavit of Mayawati had said.
"In these circumstances, the statues of the answering respondent (Mayawati) came into being as the will of the state legislature to represent the will of the people.
"It is submitted that the funds for the construction of the said memorials and installation of statues have been sanctioned through a budgetary allocation after approval of the budget by the state legislature and the passing of the relevant Appropriation Act by the state legislature in accordance with the Constitution of India and rules," the affidavit had said.
