Ahmedabad: Former Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) member Harikesh Patel, arrested by Gujarat ATS for allegedly obtaining a second passport using forged documents, has been remanded in police custody till Saturday.According to ATS officers, Patel had surrendered his Indian passport to a court during proceedings in connection with Enforcement Directorate’s money-laundering case linked to the Power Bank app scam.Patel’s anticipatory bail application was rejected, following which he approached Gujarat High Court.While the matter was pending, Patel allegedly lodged a complaint with the Delhi crime branch, falsely claiming that his passport was lost. According to ATS, Patel obtained a second passport from Regional Passport Office in Ghaziabad on July 26, 2024.He allegedly used a false address in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, on his Aadhaar card and procured supporting documents on the basis of the fabricated address.ATS officers said Patel used the second passport to travel to Bangkok, Singapore, and Dubai.The agency said it acted on specific information and launched an investigation before tracing and arresting Patel.ATS sources said Patel had originally been named as an accused in Enforcement Directorate’s investigation into the Rs 50 crore Power Bank app fraud case, but was later converted into a witness.The directorate had carried out searches at multiple locations across Gujarat as part of that probe in 2024.Patel has two other criminal cases against him. 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. ATS is now looking for the person who allegedly helped Patel obtain the second passport for Rs 65 lakh and is probing the network involved in preparing the bogus documents.Patel had been associated with PAAS since its formation in 2015 and was considered an important member of the outfit during the quota agitation led by Hardik Patel, who is now a BJP MLA from Viramgam.Hardik, when reached for comment, said Harikesh cut off contact with him about five years ago.
