Arrest of a Gujrat-based fraudster is biggest security breach in militancy-plagued J&K: Bhalla 

Demands high-level inquiry to fix responsibility for sharing secret, classified information with cheater 

JAMMU, March 17: Lambasting BJP-controlled Jammu and Kashmir Administration for sharing all secret and classified information with a Gujrat-based fraudster who hoodwinked senior officers of J&K by impersonating as Deputy Director of PMO, former minister and working president of J&K Congress Committee Mr. Raman Bhalla on Friday demanded a high-level probe into this biggest ever security breach.

Terming this episode as the biggest-ever security breach in the militancy-plagued state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Bhalla expressed surprise at how a cheater from Gujarat was given access to convene meetings with Deputy Commissioners of highly sensitive districts of Kashmir Valley without verifying his credentials.

“It is a very serious matter that without verifying the credentials of a person, he was not allowed to convene meetings but also provided Z-Plus Security to visit different parts of Kashmir Valley to review the ground situation”, Mr. Bhalla said and pointed out that this episode has exposed casual approach of those at the helm of affairs.

Stunned over the non-serious approach of the authorities, Mr. Bhalla said that the cheater impersonated himself as “Additional Director (Strategy & Campaign) in the Prime Minister’s Office” but local authorities could not muster the guts to verify the cheater’s credentials from PMO office.

“This episode has exposed a lack of coordination among different government agencies working in the terrorism-plagued Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir”,  he said, adding, “without verifying his credentials authorities for the last three months have been providing him all protocols and facilitating his visits to different parts of Kashmir Valley”.

Quoting reports,  Mr. Bhalla said that a man identified asDr. Kiran J Patel son of Jagdesh Patel posing as Additional Director (Strategy & Campaigns) PMO, New Delhi hoodwinked the J&K administration for three long months.

As per reports Patel, through forged means, managed to get security from the Jammu and Kashmir police and was staying at Hotel Lalit in Room no 1107. 

The fraudster as per reports had visited multiple places in Kashmir including Doodpatri in central Kashmir’s Budgam district. At Doodpathri the fraudster was accompanied by an SDM rank officer.

The cheater also met at least two Deputy Commissioners during his visit to the Valley.

(NOTE: PRESS RELEASE PUBLISHED AS RECEIVED)