Gandhinagar resident arrested for posing as Gujarat CMO official; booked for model’s rape

Vadodara, April 30

Police have arrested a man for allegedly posing as an official of Gujarat chief minister’s office (CMO) and president of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), and on the charge of raping a model on the promise of giving her a job, an official said here on Sunday.

The accused conman, Viraj Patel, was arrested on Saturday, he said, adding that his real identity came to light after he was brought to a police station in Vadodara following his quarrel with someone.

“The man was brought to the police station on Friday night along with the model accompanying him after he entered into a quarrel with someone at a multiplex. The accused initially told the police that he was a CMO official who had come to watch a movie with the woman. He also claimed that he was the president of the GIFT City,” Assistant Commissioner of Police A V Katkad said.

When then police checked his identity, it was found that he used a different surname on his PAN card, while there was no surname mentioned on his Aadhaar card. During his interrogation, Patel revealed that he was neither working in the CMO nor was he the president of GIFT City, he said.

After his real identity came to light, the model from Mumbai accompanying him claimed that he raped her on the pretext of giving her a job as the brand ambassador of GIFT City and promised to marry her, Katkad said.

In the preliminary investigation, it was found that he is a resident of Gandhinagar, the ACP said, adding that further probe into the case was handed over to the city crime branch.

The accused was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 170 (pretending to hold any particular office as public servant), 417 (cheating), 467 (forgery), and 376 (rape), the police officer said.