A local Ahmedabad court has granted the Ahmedabad police a 10-day remand to interrogate senior journalist Mahesh Langa and three others who have been arrested by the city crime branch in what they refer to as a national Goods and Services Tax (GST) scam.
Mahesh, 44, was arrested after the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) filed a complaint regarding fraudulent input tax credit claims.
A Gujarat government authority said Mahesh Langa was under the scanner for the last 20 months and they have adequate evidence to establish his role in the scam. His lifestyle, much above his means, was also being followed by the authorities. Mahesh’s name does not figure in the FIR yet but the name of his firm D A Enterprise has been mentioned by the police.
D A Enterprises is a construction company run by Mahesh’s family. However, at least two of his extended family members associated with D A Enterprises have claimed that it was Mahesh who ran the company and brought lucrative construction contracts using his bureaucratic and corporate contacts.
Sources say that family relations strained after some members felt that Mahesh did not share the profits equally.
Local police sources claim that at least two family members of Mahesh Langa’s family have agreed to become police witnesses thereby pushing the bar against Mahesh and his involvement in a national fake GST scam.
Mahesh, is alleged to have misused his position as a journalist and indulged in anti-professional activities for personal commercial interest. Mahesh Langa works for The Hindu, one of India’s most reputed newspapers.
Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested Mahesh on October 8, 2024. “His arrest is part of a broader investigation into a significant Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud scheme that allegedly involved over 200 fake companies and substantial financial misconduct, the police had said.
The police further added that they sought a 14-day remand because Mahesh has refused to co-operate in the investigation. The local court gave 10 days to the police.
According to the FIR which mentions a company called D A Enterprises, reportedly owned by Mahesh Langa and his family including his wife; the company indulged in using forged identities and documents to facilitate duty evasion leading to significant revenue loss for the government.
From his father Prabhudan Keshubhai Langa’s bank account, Rs 17,00,000 was deposited on his directions. Additionally, Rs 6,50,000 was deposited from his younger brother Manhardan Prabhudan Langa’s bank account.
His cousin Nileshbhai Langa deposited Rs 14,75,000 from his HDFC bank account. From this, his cousin Nileshbhai withdrew Rs 5,00,000 into his personal bank account and initiated construction work under D A Enterprises Project-2.
For this purpose, a new account was created at HDFC Bank in the name of D A Enterprises for financial transactions. In this account, Rs 42,50,000 was deposited from his father’s bank account, of which Rs 25,00,000 was later withdrawn back into his father’s account.
Consequently, through his company, a total financial transaction of Rs 36,74,533 in the basic amount and Rs 6,61,416 in GST, amounting to Rs 44,35,949, took place from Dhruvi Enterprises between 21 March 2023 and 22 March 2023.
Besides Mahesh, the police have arrested 19 others involved in a similar scam. The fake GST scam in Gujarat is believed to have already crossed Rs 50,000 crore amount. A prominent BJP MLA’s son Ajay Barad, believed to be an accomplice of Mahesh Langa is also likely to be arrested.
The police executed raids across 14 locations in multiple districts, including Ahmedabad, Junagadh, Surat, Kheda, and Bhavnagar, as reported by Indian Express.
During the raids, law enforcement officials seized: Rs 20 lakh cash from Mahesh’s penthouse besides gold and diamond jewellery and four files of land documents. Mahesh, while working as a journalist, also ran a parallel construction business besides indulging in liasoning.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Ajit Rajian, confirmed that the arrest stemmed from extensive questioning of Langa, during which authorities established his involvement in the operation of one of the implicated firms.
A firm Dhruvi Enterprises is at the centre of attention for purporting the fake GST claims. According to police, Mahesh played a crucial role in setting up multiple shell companies to generate fraudulent ITC claims.
These companies allegedly operated using a single Permanent Account Number (PAN) and carried out transactions that were never executed in reality. Firms involved other firms implicated in the fraud include: Om Construction, Raj Infra, Haresh Construction Company, and DA Enterprise.
The involvement of these firms is crucial as they are believed to have facilitated the fraudulent activities through bogus billing and manipulation of financial documents.
Even as some pointers were made at Mahesh Langa’s arrest being politically motivated, his association with BJP MLAs rubbishes the claim of political vindictiveness, police sources said.
His friend’s Aryan Associates which is also under scanner is owned by a Gujarat BJP MLA’s son.
