Police release man thought to be Devani

By Cyrus Ombati

Police have released a man believed to be wanted proprietor of Triton Petroleum Limited Yagnesh Devani.

Police said they freed the suspect, who had seven passports bearing different names, after his fingerprints failed to match with the ones they have for Devani.

Detectives at Criminal Investigation Department headquarters said there was a mismatch between his fresh fingerprints and those that were taken when he sought a certificate of good conduct in 2007.

"The fingerprints in our store did not match with the ones taken from the man last Friday. Witnesses have also said he is not the one," a senior source said who asked not named.

One of his passports had his name read as Yagnesh Kalpesh Devani and indicated he was aged 33.

Other names

Others had the names of Yagnesh Kalpesh, Kalpesh Muhee and Devani Kalpesh. It is not clear why he had all the documents some of which were issued in Nairobi, Dubai, India and UK.

When the suspect was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Friday, he told police he was not the wanted Devani but his nephew. But police who had been tipped by the Interpol of his arrival detained him until Monday evening when they set him free unconditionally.

During his detention, his photographs were taken for comparison, which allegedly showed he is not the wanted Devani. Police did not allow the media to take the suspect’s photograph for comparison.

Some of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission officials who travelled to India last year and recorded Devani’s statement were also called to CID headquarters and confirmed he was not the one. "The officials who questioned him last year said he was not the one and we had to release the suspect," said a senior officer.