Mumbai: The nodal cyber police have closed the cheating, forgery and impersonation case against the Juhu hotelier who impersonated NCP Rajya Sabha member Praful Patel and sent messages to Qatar ruling family to seek their assistance in securing business opportunities. Ravi Kant reportedly used Patel’s display picture (DP) on WhatsApp to make his demands. Patel had filed a complaint last year.Police submitted a ‘C’ summary report (when the case is neither true nor false and the case was filed due to mistake of facts), stating that that no criminal offence had occurred and whatever happened was due to misunderstanding, particularly because Kant was a long-time admirer and fan of Patel and put his picture on his WhatsApp profile.The complaint was filed on July 20 by Patel’s personal assistant, who found through a party worker that a WhatsApp account using a mobile number had displayed a profile picture of the MP dressed in a white shirt and black jacket, along with the name ‘Praful Patel’.Inspector Abhijeet Sonawane led the team that obtained the call detail record (CDR), subscriber detail record (SDR), and IP data related to the number, which was in the name of Kant, a 34-year-old restaurant manager from Juhu. Kant told the police that after his father’s death he wanted to set up a hotel business and had no bad intentions.Kant admitted to using Patel’s photo on his WhatsApp profile. He explained that he was a long-time admirer of the MP, particularly for his contributions as civil aviation minister from 2004 to 2011. He told the police that Patel had been a role model for him since his father’s death and that he followed him closely on social media, never intending to impersonate or misuse his identity.In the closure report, the police have attached statements from Kant’s family and co-workers supporting his claim, confirming he harboured genuine respect for Patel and had no malicious intent.
