Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Saturday arrested Harikesh Patel, son of Gujarat Pradesh Mahila Congress President Gitalben Patel, in a case involving a fake passport linked to an ongoing enforcement directorate (ED) money laundering probe. The arrest followed findings that Patel had surreptitiously acquired a second passport after surrendering his original Indian passport to a court.
According to sources, the case originates from a money laundering investigation connected to the Powerbank app, which has drawn scrutiny from the enforcement agency. During the course of proceedings related to the ED case, Harikesh Patel had voluntarily surrendered his Indian passport to the court as part of the legal process. However, authorities later discovered that he subsequently filed a fabricated complaint claiming the passport had been lost or stolen. Using this false report, he reportedly managed to obtain a duplicate passport through the standard reissuance process.
The ATS uncovered the discrepancy during the investigation and moved to arrest him. Harikesh Patel was taken into custody on September 12 from his residence in Ahmedabad. On September 13, he was produced before a local judicial magistrate, who ordered his remand to six days of ATS custody for further questioning and investigation.
This development has added a new dimension to the broader ED probe into the Powerbank app, bringing a political family from Gujarat squarely into the spotlight. The arrest underscores the seriousness with which law enforcement agencies are treating cases of passport fraud, particularly when linked to money laundering investigations. Legal experts note that obtaining a second passport by concealing an existing one from a court can attract stringent penalties under India's Passports Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ATS is expected to press deeper questions regarding whether Patel used the duplicate passport for any unauthorized purpose and whether any financial irregularities were facilitated through the new document. The ED is likely to take cognizance of the arrest and may seek to connect the passport fraud to the larger money laundering framework under investigation.
