Man Posing As PMO Official Got Z-Plus Cover, Met J-K Officials; Held

Srinagar: Kiran Patel hailing from Gujarat was arrested by police from a five-star hotel in Srinagar for posing as an ‘additional secretary’ in the Centre.

Patel, who was impersonating an Additional Director for strategy and campaigns in the Prime Minister’s Office, had even got Z-plus security cover, a bulletproof SUV and official accommodation at a five-star hotel in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the administration for a ride.

On Thursday, details of his arrest emerged after a magistrate sent him to judicial custody. It’s unclear if a First Information Report or FIR was registered on the same day of his arrest or there was some delay in filing it.

Patel is also verified on Twitter and has over a thousand followers, including BJP Gujarat General Secretary Pradipsinh Vaghela. He shared several videos and pictures of his ‘official visits’ in Kashmir surrounded by paramilitary guards, the last of which was on March 2.