Mahesh Langa, senior assistant editor at The Hindu, was arrested by the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) on Tuesday, along with three others, in connection with an alleged GST input tax credit (ITC) fraud 💰📝. This follows a complaint from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), accusing 13 firms of generating fake bills to avail fraudulent ITC 📄💸.
Key Details:
- Unaccounted assets: Rs 20 lakh in cash 💵, gold 🏅, and land documents 🏡 were recovered from Langa.
- Benami firms: The FIR claims over 220 fake firms were used in the racket ⚖️🔍.
- Family involvement: While Langa’s name wasn’t mentioned in the FIR, his cousin Manojkumar and his wife—who allegedly holds a partnership in DA Enterprise—are linked to the case 👥💼.
Langa’s Role in the Case:
- Wife’s involvement: Police allege Langa’s wife is a director of one of the implicated companies 🏢, though she claims to be unaware of it ❓.
- Prime accused: Dhruvi Enterprise, allegedly involved in setting up six firms under one PAN to claim ITC for non-existent transactions 💳📊.
📰 The Hindu’s Response:
Suresh Nambath, Editor of The Hindu, commented on Bluesky:
“We have no details about the merits of the case, but understand that this is unrelated to his journalism work ✍️. We appreciate his professional contributions and expect a fair investigation 🔎⚖️.”
Political Connections 🏛️:
Ajay Barad, son of BJP MLA Bhagwan Barad, along with his nephews, are also accused ⚖️. The MLA denied any fraudulent intent, claiming his company had merely transacted with a firm now under investigation 🏢🤷♂️.
This case continues to develop as authorities investigate the broader network of fraudulent firms 👁️🗨️📂.
Stay tuned for updates! 🎯