UP STF arrests Jaipur man in fake ITC scam case
Meerut : Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested a 48-year-old man in Jaipur for his alleged involvement in a gang that defrauded the govt of crores of rupees by fraudulently claiming input tax credit (ITC) through fake firms and forged e-way bills, police said on Tuesday. The accused, Ankur Kanda, arrested on Sunday, was wanted in a case registered at Pilibhit’s Kotwali police station in 2023 under IPC sections pertaining to cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Meerut | Silver Rate in Meerut | Bank Holidays in Meerut | Public Holidays in Meerut | Meerut AQI | Weather in Meerut | Petrol Price in Meerut | Diesel Price in Meerut | CNG Price in Meerut | LPG Price in Meerut Stay updated with the latest Meerut news.
Police said efforts were underway to arrest the other accused. Acting on a tip-off about Kanda’s whereabouts, an STF team led by inspector Ravindra Kumar travelled to Jaipur and, with the assistance of local police, arrested him. Kanda was produced before a Jaipur court, which granted him transit remand. He was subsequently brought to Pilibhit. Download the TOI App.
Investigating officer Arun Nigam said the gang allegedly issued fake e-way bills to traders seeking to claim fraudulent ITC. Kanda and his associates later began issuing fake e-way bills through Asia Bitumen as well, Nigam said. The traders’ payments were routed through other bank accounts or hawala channels, after which the gang deducted a commission and returned the money, enabling the traders to claim tax credits using forged bills.
The case was registered on Jan 3, 2023, after Mohd Farman, owner of Farman & Sons in Pilibhit’s Naveen Mandi, received Income Tax Department notices over transactions worth Rs 14 crore allegedly conducted using his PAN. “Around 2017-18, they travelled to Delhi, where they met people who had set up Rayan International using Farman’s documents and those of two other men.
Additional SP Brijesh Kumar Singh of the Meerut STF field unit said Kanda disclosed during questioning that he and his associates operated a bitumen trading firm, Asia Bitumen. Bank accounts were subsequently opened in the firm’s name,” he said. Farman later discovered that two firms based in North Delhi — Rayan International and Footnext International — had allegedly used his PAN and forged documents to obtain GST registrations. The turnover of the firms also appeared in his Form 26AS.