It has come to light that an alleged conman who pretended to be a PMO official and obtained privileges at taxpayer expense during their trips to Kashmir was accompanied by the son of someone who claims to have served as a public relations officer for every Gujarat chief minister since 2000, including Narendra Modi.
Amit Pandya and Jay Sitapara from Gujarat, who were allegedly associated with the suspected con artist Kiran Patel and who claimed to be additional director (strategic and campaigns) in the PMO, were inexplicably permitted to depart the Union territory by Jammu and Kashmir police.
The three were apprehended by the police on March 3 during a raid at a luxurious hotel in Srinagar, according to Kiran’s attorney Rehaan Gowhar. Yet up until last Friday, it remained a secret. The police have summoned Amit and Jay back to the Valley for interrogation.
Hitesh Pandya, a former journalist turned politician who declared himself a PRO to five Gujarat chief ministers, is the father of Amit. According to Hitesh’s social media profile, he is a media consultant for the government and a PR for Gujarat’s current chief minister, Bhupendrabhai Patel. A Twitter account with Hitesh’s name and no verification has a picture of him standing next to someone who looks like Modi.
He (his son Amit) had returned to Gujarat but is now in the Valley, Hitesh said to The Telegraph on Monday.
The J&K police did not summon Amit, but they did ask him to return (for questioning). I have complete trust in him to be innocent of any crime, Hitesh said. While Hitesh confirmed that his kid was travelling with Kiran, he said that the PMO team did not include him. Hitesh claimed, “He had gone there for some business-related job. According to Hitesh, he represents the current Gujarat chief minister as his PRO. He claimed to have worked as the head of staff for four other chief ministers, including the late Vijaybhai Rupani, Narendra Modi, Anandiben Patel, and Keshubhai Patel.
“A media person in diverse jobs from 1977 to 2000 with a Gujarati Media, Since 2001 PRO to CMGUJARAT: Ex ABVP; Ex BJP Intellectual Cell State Prez, Tweets personl,” states the bio of Hitesh’s fictitious Twitter account. Why Kiran was picked out for arrest while the other two were let free remains a mystery to the police. According to sources, the group had Z-plus protection and official lodging at a five-star hotel in Srinagar while duping the authorities.
The three were there at the hotel together, according to Gowhar, Kiran’s attorney. The two other people were released while my client was taken into custody. I’m not sure why. On Sunday, Kashmir’s police head Vijay Kumar disputed that there had been a breakdown in intelligence, but said that a field officer’s “negligence” was to blame for the error. No one would be spared, he said. Dr. Kiran J. Patel is the name of Kiran’s verified Twitter account, which has a small number of followers.
In accordance with the information provided in his Twitter profile, he has a PhD from Commonwealth University in Virginia, an MBA from IIM Trichy, an MTech in computer science, and a BE in computer engineering. As a “thinker, strategist, analyst, and campaign manager,” Kiran further characterises himself. He has been referred to as a “fraudster” by J&K police.
