The Ahmedabad Crime Branch will probe the educational qualifications of alleged conman Kiran Patel who was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir last month for posing as a PMO official and brought to Gujarat in the early hours of Saturday.

Patel claims to be a computer engineer who has worked in an advertisement agency as well as abroad, Ahmedabad Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Chaitanya Mandlik said.

"We will probe his claims. We will lodge a fresh FIR against him if his educational degrees are found to be fake," Mandlik added.

As per the Crime Branch, Patel claimed to have completed his diploma in computer engineering from a polytechnic here before completing a diploma-to-degree engineering course from a prominent government engineering college in Ahmedabad.

He has also claimed he pursued a one-year executive MBA from Indian Institute of Management at Trichy in Tamil Nadu during 2021-22, as per police.

Patel has told police he worked as a programmer at an advertising agency in Ahmedabad where he developed advertisements and websites for political parties and it was here that he collected information regarding office bearers of political parties and projects.

Patel was brought here and arrested at 3 am on Saturday in connection with a case related to grabbing a bungalow belonging to a senior citizen in a posh locality of the city. His wife Malini Patel was arrested in the case on March 28.

"Every aspect of these claims will be probed, including his social media posts, educational degrees, properties, etc. Patel attended various government programs where he identified himself as a political official to writers and artists and invited guests," the DCP said.

Police said Patel allegedly managed 'Chalo India ' programme in Delhi in 2019 and organised an event at a five-star hotel to claim government benefit for G20 summit in 2022.

"We brought Kiran Patel from Srinagar in J-K to Ahmedabad via road. We took his custody at around 3 am on Saturday after a medical check-up. A total of five FIRs have been lodged against Patel. These comprise one in Srinagar as well as cases in Naroda police station in Ahmedabad, Raopura police station in Vadodara and Bayad in Aravalli district," he said.

These cases pertain to selling 16 four-wheelers taken on rent, not paying Rs 1.55 crore for decoration and lighting for a garba event organised in Vadodara, cheating a person of Rs 1.5 crore on the pretext of making an investment by claiming to be politically connected.

"Patel would falsely introduce himself as a senior-level government officer with political influence and would show off to cheat people. We are carrying out a 360 degree investigation. We will interrogate him regarding his social media, education degrees and properties," Mandlik said.

The crime branch had filed FIR against him on the complaint of one Jagdish Chavda who said Patel cheated him and took illegal possession of his bungalow on the pretext of renovating it.

Patel won the trust of the owners and started the renovation work on the bungalow. He also took Rs 35 lakh in instalments.

Later, however, he claimed ownership of the property and filed a civil suit in a local court. Patel and his wife Malini were booked under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 170 (pretending to hold office of public servant), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Patel was arrested by J-K police from a five-star hotel in Srinagar last month for allegedly posing as an 'additional secretary' in the Central government and enjoying security cover, besides other hospitality.

He was on his third visit to the Kashmir valley when he was nabbed by alert security officials on March 3. Patel had claimed to have been given a mandate by the government to identify buyers for apple orchards in south Kashmir.

Patel was handed over to Gujarat police late Thursday afternoon after its request for his custody was granted by the court of the chief judicial magistrate in Srinagar.

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