Ahmedabad, Oct 30 : A court in Gujarat has denied bail to journalist Mahesh Langa in a GST fraud case, observing there was prima facie evidence of his active involvement in the conspiracy to cheat the government as well as the possibility of his tampering with evidence, if released.

The decision was handed down by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Manish V. Chauhan after perusing the submitted documents and hearing the arguments.

This is the latest setback for Langa, who faced a third FIR being filed against him within a month, this time accusing him of being involved in a Rs 28 lakh cheating case, as stated by Ahmedabad Police.

The FIR stems from a complaint by Pranav Shah, director of Khushi Enterprises, who alleged he gave Langa Rs 23 lakh for "advertisement work" and an additional Rs 5 lakh for a "lavish party", but Langa did not complete the work for which he was paid or return the funds, according to Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik.

Langa has been in custody since earlier this month due to an alleged goods and services tax scam, with an FIR registered on October 7 by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch based on a complaint from the Central GST. A second FIR was filed against him in Gandhinagar on October 23, following the alleged recovery of documents related to the Gujarat Maritime Board.

According to the Director General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), the October 7 FIR also names shell company, Dhruvi Enterprises, and 12 other companies associated with it.

As per details of the facts which have been uncovered in the investigation by the Ahmedabad police so far, the companies had used such forged bills for the purpose of cheating the government exchequer by falsely claiming input tax credits in order to evade GST dues. As per the report of DGGI, similar credentials such as mobile numbers, PAN cards, etc., were used to make another 220 suspected shell companies.

Total searches were carried at 19 places across the state in the districts of Bhavnagar, Surat, Junagadh, Rajkot, Ahmedabad etc.

"So far, we have seized 29 computers, 38 mobiles, 7 laptops and several documents and have sent them for forensic analysis. Further investigation is ongoing," the Ahmedabad police said.

It was found that Dhruvi Enterprises was an entirely fake company registered using the credentials and the name of farm labourer Haresh Makwana, a resident of Botad district. A total of Rs 7.04 crore worth of fraudulent transactions were done in Dhruvi Enterprises, according to the police.

Dhruvi Enterprises was used as a shell company to launder money, where fake forged bills were generated to evade GST and the cash was routed back after a commission cut through the hawala operator network.

The police have recorded a total of 139 statements and have arrested 17 accused. This includes the persons who had falsely created Dhruvi Enterprises for the purpose of cheating by using forged documents.

Registered on July 20, 2020, the firm was co-owned by Langa's cousin Manoj Langa, and Vinubhai Patel. However, Mahesh Langa had gotten Patel removed in 2021, and made his wife Kavita Langa a co-owner.

In the searches, Rs 20 lakh unaccounted money was found at Langa's residence for which he could not provide any satisfactory answer.

His declared income till 2022-2023 was Rs 9.48 lakh and his wife's declared income was Rs 6.04 lakh.

As per the analysis of accounts, this money was not associated with the declared incomes or businesses run by Langa. "We have recovered technical evidence and statements," the police said.

It was also revealed that he was using his identity as an investigative journalist to indulge in illegal financial dealings and to gain access to different offices and personnel.

/IANS