The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested Harikesh Patel, son of Gujarat Pradesh Mahila Congress president Gitaben Patel, for allegedly obtaining a second passport using forged documents after surrendering his original passport in court, officials said.
ATS officials said Patel, a Shahibaug resident, allegedly used the second passport to travel to Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai via Bhutan before returning to India through Nepal. The agency has also alleged that the passport was obtained for Rs 65 lakh using forged documents and a fabricated Agra address.
ATS alleges false lost passport complaint
Patel's original passport had been deposited in court in connection with an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into an online investment fraud case. After his bail was rejected, he allegedly filed a false "lost passport" complaint with the Delhi Crime Branch.
According to ATS officials, he then used fake rental papers and a false Agra address to obtain a new passport from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh in July 2024.
The ATS said Patel concealed the fact that his original passport was already with the court. Investigators found that forged rent agreements showing Delhi and Agra addresses were allegedly used in the process, following which his Aadhaar details were updated with the Agra address.
Second passport allegedly used for overseas travel
Using the updated documents, Patel allegedly obtained a second passport from the Regional Passport Office in Ghaziabad on July 26, 2024. ATS officials said he subsequently used it to travel to Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai via Bhutan and returned to India through Nepal.
Patel was arrested from the Science City area in Ahmedabad after the ATS received information that he was allegedly holding two passports.
The ATS has also launched an investigation to identify the person who allegedly helped Patel obtain the second passport and the network involved in preparing the forged documents.
Case registered under BNS and Passport Act
A case was registered at the ATS police station on September 13 under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 336(2) (forgery) and Section 340 (using a forged document as genuine), and Section 12(1)(b) (furnishing false information to obtain a passport) of the Passports Act, 1967. Further investigation is underway.
According to reports, Patel had previously been named as an accused in the ED's investigation into the Rs 50-crore Power Bank app fraud case, although he was later made a witness. The ED had conducted searches at multiple locations across Gujarat in 2024 as part of the probe.
Patel was also a former functionary of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), according to reports.
Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said the party had learnt of the arrest. "The law must take its own course. If he has done something illegal, it will deal with him accordingly," he said.