Days after controversy erupted over Gujarati conman Kiran Bhai Patel, who has been acting as an “Additional Director (Strategy & Campaigns) in the prime minister’s office” in Kashmir, a senior official in the Gujarat Chief Minister's office, has resigned over his son being part of a fake 'official' team.
According to a report by NDTV, Amit Hitesh Pandya, son of Mr Pandya, was part of the fake 'official team' led by conman Kiran Bhai Patel. Pandya was serving as the Gujarat Chief Minister's Public Relations Officer (PRO) since 2001. He submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel yesterday.
The police said that Kiran Bhai Patel, a resident of Gujarat impersonated himself as a senior government official of the government of India. The police sources say he resorted to cheating, and forgery and duped people under a plan to secure monetary benefits. The police have booked him under sections 419, 420, 467, 468, and 471 of the IPC.
According to the NDTV report, Mr Pandya has reportedly said that he doesn't want the image of the Prime Minister's Office and the Gujarat Chief Minister's Office to be tarnished, even as his son is "innocent" in his resignation letter.
"My son is innocent. However, I don't want the image of the CMO and the PMO tarnished, and hence I am resigning from the post," Mr Pandya is reported to have said in the resignation letter.
The police had arrested Patel and booked him under various sections of the IPC in the police station Nishat. The police said an investigation is in progress in the case. The police are also investigating whom he met during his stay in the Valley and what kind of favour he sought from them.
