Who is Mahesh Langa, journalist arrested in GST fraud case
Mahesh Langa, a senior assistant editor at The Hindu and a prominent Gujarat-based journalist, was arrested on Tuesday in connection with an alleged Goods and Service Tax (GST) scam. Langa's arrest came after the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) complained against 13 companies and their owners for suspected input tax credit (ITC) fraud. Langa has been a key figure in Gujarat's media landscape for two decades, reporting on political and social issues.
Arrest follows FIR against 13 entities
The arrest comes after the city Crime Branch registered an FIR against 13 people and entities, including DA Enterprises, a company reportedly owned by Langa's cousin. The action was taken after a complaint from central GST about an alleged scam involving bogus firms. The Crime Branch said "over 200 fraudulently created firms [were] working across the country in an organized manner to defraud the government exchequer by availing bogus input tax credit."
Shell company and fraudulent activities
Dhruvi Enterprise, a shell company involved in the case, reportedly transferred fraudulent input tax credit using fake invoices without any actual supply of goods or services. The company had acquired GST registration on the basis of a forged rent agreement. As many as 12 "active firms" received the accumulated input tax credit, according to the investigation, after six companies in India allegedly used the same PAN to register Dhruvi Enterprise.
Langa's involvement and recovery of unaccounted assets
DCP (Crime) Ajit Rajian said ₹20 lakh in unaccounted cash, some gold and several land documents were recovered from Langa. He alleged the journalist was using the company for fraudulent activities. Papers with Langa's wife Kavita's name were also found during the investigation, but she was confirmed to be unrelated to the entity's activities.
The Hindu editor reacts to Langa's arrest
Reacting to Langa's arrest, The Hindu Editor Suresh Nambath said on social media app Bluesky, "While we have no details about the merits of the case, we are given to understand that this is not related to his reports published in The Hindu." He added that they appreciate Langa's professional work and hope no journalist is targeted for their work.
