In more trouble for jailed Gujarat scribe Mahesh Langa, police now file cheating case against him

AHMEDABAD: Police have registered a cheating case against Gujarat-based senior journalist Mahesh Langa, who is already in jail in an alleged Goods and Services Tax (GST) scam, for allegedly duping a businessman of Rs 28.68 lakh, said a senior official on Tuesday.

This is the third First Information Report (FIR) registered against Langa after his arrest earlier this month by the Ahmedabad police's crime branch in the alleged GST scam.

On October 23, a second FIR was registered against the journalist by the Gandhinagar police following the recovery of "incriminating" documents of the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) from his possession during raids, said Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police GS Malik.

Langa, who worked with a leading newspaper in Gujarat, was sent to judicial custody two weeks ago after his police remand in the GST "fraud" case came to an end.

"We have now registered an FIR of cheating against Langa for allegedly duping a businessman of Rs 28.68 lakh. When the complainant sought his money back, Langa allegedly warned him, saying he 'can damage his business through negative media coverage citing his political influence and media connections'," said Malik.

As per the case details, the complainant is engaged in the business of advertising and he came in contact with the journalist nearly two years ago, said the police commissioner at a press conference.

"Langa portrayed himself as an influential figure with extensive media and government contacts. Langa offered to assist the complainant with his advertising business through his connections and positive news coverage. He then borrowed Rs 23 lakh from the businessman in June and promised to repay him in cash," informed Malik.

The accused scribe then allegedly made the businessman pay a bill of Rs 5.68 lakh for a birthday party organised for his wife Kavita, said the police officer.

Langa had promised to reimburse this amount on the day of the event, which was in September, he said.

"When the businessman requested Langa to return the money, he resorted to intimidation and warned of consequences citing his connections. On learning about the recent developments (referring to FIRs filed against the journalist), the businessman decided to approach us and lodge a complaint against Langa," said Malik.

The Ahmedabad crime branch on October 7 registered the FIR against several persons and entities after getting a complaint from the central GST department over an alleged scam of floating bogus firms with an intent to defraud the government by availing bogus input tax credit (ITC) through fraudulent transactions.

So far, the crime branch has arrested 17 persons, including Langa, in connection with the alleged GST fraud.

Later, on October 23, Langa and an unidentified employee of the GMB were booked by the Gandhinagar police on the charges of theft following the recovery of official documents from his premises during raids conducted by the crime branch in connection with the alleged GST fraud.

Malik noted that though Langa and his wife's annual income was only Rs 15 lakh, as per the income tax returns of 2022-23, he used to live a lavish life and the crime branch recovered unaccounted cash of Rs 20 lakh from his residence during a raid.

The police commissioner said Langa's wife and cousin Manoj were partners in a dubious firm which was being operated by the senior journalist. The firm, 'DA Enterprises', had posted turnover of Rs 6.7 crore in 2022-23.

Later, both Kavita and Manoj, in their statements before the magistrate, said they were innocent because the firm was operated by Langa, said Malik, adding both were not arrested as they were found to be innocent in the police probe too.

"DA Enterprises was being used to route money by artificially increasing expenses in the form of fake billings and receiving cash in return. Money was transferred to Dhruvi Enterprise and it was then withdrawn as cash and routed back to Mahesh through hawala network," said the IPS officer, who had personally interrogated Langa.

The journalist's lavish lifestyle included several stays in five-star hotels' presidential suites, travel in business class and chartered flights, purchase of luxury brand clothings, gifts and expensive foreign holidays in Dubai, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, said the commissioner.

"To investigate his lifestyle and his unexplained expenses is not the mandate of the current investigation. For that we have informed the income tax department," said Malik.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday claimed in New Delhi that Langa was "controlling" an accused company, DA Enterprises, from whose premises unaccounted cash was seized by the Gujarat police recently as part of an investigation into the GST "fraud" case.

The federal probe agency said it undertook fresh searches on Sunday in this money laundering case and raided seven premises in Ahmedabad, Surat and Bhavnagar and seized "incriminating" documents.

According to the ED, Langa was "controlling" DA Enterprises from whose premises "a large quantum of unaccounted cash" was seized by the police.

The money laundering case stems from an Ahmedabad crime branch FIR registered on receipt of a complaint from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) against "creation of more than 200 shell entities by a group of organised criminals in order to fraudulently receive and pass-on the ITC at the strength of bogus invoices, without supply of any goods or services".