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.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.According to the ATS, Patel’s original passport, numbered S2528999, had been surrendered to a court in connection with a case being investigated by Enforcement Directorate (ED). Investigators allege that he hid this fact and filed a false complaint with Delhi Crime Branch, claiming the passport had been lost.The probe found that Patel used forged rent agreements showing addresses in Delhi and Agra, and got his Aadhaar card updated to reflect the Agra address. Using that document, he allegedly obtained a second passport, numbered C0538007, from the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Ghaziabad on July 26, 2024, and then used it for overseas travel.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.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 Patel, when reached for comment, said Harikesh cut off contact with him about five years ago after he joined the BJP.ATS acted after receiving information that Patel held two passports. He was summoned for questioning, after which the agency registered a case and began investigating how the second passport was secured.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. On Sunday, ATS registered an FIR against Patel on charges of forgery and cheating under BNS and Passport Act.
