Harikesh Patel allegedly hid that his original passport was with a court. He obtained a second passport from Ghaziabad RPO using fabricated Agra address
Ahmedabad: Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has filed an FIR against Harikesh Patel, a former key functionary of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) who was part of the Hardik Patel-led quota agitation, for allegedly procuring a second passport by paying Rs 65 lakh and using a fabricated Agra address, officers said on Tuesday. Naranpura police registered a case in 2022 under provisions related to criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, conspiracy and cyberfraud. Crime Branch registered another case in 2023 under the sections pertaining to cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.
Patel, son of a prominent Congress worker from Ahmedabad, allegedly concealed that his original passport had already been deposited with a court before obtaining the second document, ATS officers said. He is accused of using the fraudulently obtained passport to travel to Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai via Bhutan, and returning to India through Nepal. Patel has two other criminal cases against him.
ATS sources said Patel had originally been named as an accused in the ED’s investigation into the Rs 50 crore Power Bank app fraud case, but was later converted into a witness. The ED had carried out searches at multiple locations across Gujarat as part of that probe in 2024. Investigators allege that he hid this fact and filed a false complaint with Delhi Crime Branch, claiming the passport had been lost.
Patel’s original passport, numbered S2528999, had been surrendered to a court in connection with a case being investigated by Enforcement Directorate (ED), according to the ATS.