The accused in police custody
Lucknow: A group of four men allegedly posed as GST officials, used details from a truck’s e-way bill and tax invoice to make their claims appear genuine, and demanded Rs 50,000 from the driver. The driver was allegedly threatened, and Rs 11,000 in cash was also taken from his pocket, police said.
What initially appeared to be a GST inspection on a highway in Hamirpur was later found to be an alleged extortion attempt, according to police. During interrogation, police said they uncovered what they suspect was a wider modus operandi. SP, Hamirpur, Mrigank Shekhar Pathak, said that Bhola allegedly operated with his brother Sagar and associate Krishna.
Hamirpur Police have arrested four people for allegedly posing as GST officials and stopping a vehicle carrying kitchen goods from Lucknow to Mahoba. Two other members of the group are on the run. That call triggered the police investigation. Investigators say the alleged extortion attempt was not random. Police found that the vehicle owner, Mahesh Pandey, and driver Dinesh Singh had allegedly shared the truck’s e-way bill and tax invoice. The information was then allegedly used by Bhola Yadav alias Sunny and his associates to contact the consignment owner while posing as a GST official named Harshit Kumar from the Kanpur division. Police recovered fake GST identity cards from Bhola Yadav and Aman Yadav during their arrests. Mobile phones and SIM cards allegedly used by the accused were also seized.
The group had reportedly earlier been involved in helping trucks move covertly across the Bihar border to evade GST checks.