Guj con man’s aide held for making fake cards

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, April 25

Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested an aide of the Gujarat con man Kiran Patel for making fake visiting cards for Patel to dupe officials and civilians.

Piyush, son of Kanti of Gujarat, was arrested by the Kashmir Police from his printing press ‘Akanksha Creation’ in Ahmedabad.

Piyush had made fake visiting cards for Patel who posed as an Additional Director (Strategy and Campaigns), Prime Minister’s Office, and duped officials and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, a police officer told The Tribune. “Piyush has been arrested,” he said.

On March 16, Patel (48) was arrested in Srinagar after he conned the J&K administration and acquired VVIP protocol and security while in Kashmir.

On April 8, he was handed over to Ahmedabad Crime Branch in connection with a case of cheating registered against him by a former Gujarat minister’s brother Jagdish Chavda. Patel has allegedly grabbed his bungalow in a posh locality in Ahmedabad.

On Monday, Patel was handed back to the Kashmir police by the Gujarat Police after completion of investigation into multiple fraud cases against him.

Patel has been sent to Central Jail, Srinagar, as per the orders of a local authority.

On March 28, Patel’s wife Malini Patel was taken into custody by the Gujarat Police in connection with a cheating case registered by Chavda.