Mahesh Langa booked for ‘cheating’ businessman of Rs 28 lakh in 4th case involving him

Seventeen people have been arrested in the case so far, said Malik. “There are comments on X questioning the actions of the police. That is absolutely wrong. The Crime Branch is handling this case very professionally,” he said.

The registration of an FIR against Langa for the alleged possession of confidential documents linked to Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) has drawn criticism from various media bodies. The case was filed after the documents were allegedly seized from Langa’s home by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch.

At Tuesday’s press briefing, Malik dissociated the Ahmedabad City Police from the GMB documents case, stating that both, in his remarks, as well as in a press note circulated later, it was highlighted that the GMB case was exclusively under the purview of the Gandhinagar Police and that the Ahmedabad City Police “are not privy” to the investigation in the case.

Amid fresh claims against Langa by police, including those related to his lifestyle and alleged benami transactions, The Indian Express reached out to Langa’s lawyers who declined to comment. However, they said they would issue a statement on Wednesday.

Among other allegations against Langa, police in a statement on Tuesday underlined that “the chats from his phone have highlighted that his monetary dealings were not related at all with his investigative journalism”. “However, it has been 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. He has introduced himself to several Indians and foreigners as financial broker, land dealer and lobbyist who works for personal favours in cash and in kind. Several incriminating facts and documents have been discovered which are also being analysed and investigated,” read the statement.

Latest case against Langa

In the latest case against Langa, complainant Pranay Shah is a business owner in Ahmedabad who runs Khushi Advertising, said police. “Langa has been booked for cheating an amount of Rs 28,68,250 and criminal intimidation by Pranay Shah who allegedly gave him money in exchange for services as well for a party (thrown) for his wife Kavita Langa,” said Malik.

A police statement further elaborated, “Over the past two years, the complainant allegedly became acquainted with Langa through meetings in Bodakdev area of Ahmedabad, where Langa portrayed himself as an influential figure with extensive media and government contact. Langa offered to assist the complainant with advertising needs, claiming he could leverage his connections for positive news coverage and even create a promotional portal for the company. Accepting Langa’s offer, the complainant engaged in business transactions based on Langa’s assurances of assistance and reimbursement,” it added.

On March 16 and June 6, Shah allegedly transferred Rs 23 lakh to Langa’s account through a media company managed by Shah’s friend which was meant to help the journalist buy a corporate office.

Shah told the police that he paid the bill of Rs 5,68,250 following Langa’s wife’s birthday party in September “after Langa assured him that he would reimburse this amount in cash on the day of the event”, the release said. “However, when the complainant requested the total repayment of ₹28,68,250, Langa allegedly refused and resorted to intimidation tactics. He is said to have warned the complainant that he could damage his business through negative media coverage, citing his political influence and media connections,” it said.

Malik said, “When Pranay Shah found out that Langa had been arrested in the GST fraud case, he approached the police and filed a complaint against him.”

Questions over ‘lifestyle’

Malik said that Langa’s income tax returns for 2022-23 show that his income was Rs 9.48 lakh and his wife’s income was Rs 6.04 lakh, totalling about Rs 15.52 lakh (in family income). “But cash worth Rs 20 lakh was seized from his home during searches,” he said.

Malik also suggested that Langa allegedly had an ‘extravagant lifestyle’ and stayed “in five star hotels, exchanged expensive gifts, and visited foreign countries like UAE and Hong Kong.”

A statement from his office read, “…to investigate his lifestyle and his (Langa’s) unexplained expenses is not the mandate of the current (police) investigation… We have given the information to the Income Tax Department in this context.”

ED probe

This will be the fourth case against him, registered a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a case of money laundering against Dhruvi Enterprise, which is at the centre of the alleged GST fraud case filed earlier. The central agency had also conducted searches at seven places in Gujarat on Sunday.

As per Ahmedabad police investigations, Dhruvi Enterprise was a “fake firm” registered using the credentials of a farmer from Botad district, identified as Haresh Makwana.

There have been allegations that DA Enterprises — which has been linked to Langa — had carried out transactions with Dhruvi Enterprise.

DA Enterprise, named in the first FIR based on a complaint by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), was allegedly one of the 220 shell companies created for fraudulent gain through Input Tax Credit (ITC) based on bogus invoices without actual supply of goods or services.

Based on statements of 139 people, Ahmedabad police have found that DA Enterprise — co-owned by Langa’s cousin Manoj Langa and one Vinu Patel — was registered on July 20, 2020, and recorded a turnover of Rs 21 lakh in 2020-21. Langa removed Patel in 2021 and made his wife co-owner on October 9, 2021, ” in order to obtain a bigger share of money from the new business” as per an ED statement. The turnover of the firm then rose to Rs 6.7 crore in 2022-2023.

According to the ED, “during the investigation, it has come to notice that Langa was controlling the firm M/s DA Enterprises, from whose premises large quantum of unaccounted cash was seized by the police authorities, and it is further gathered that various other benami transactions are suspected to have happened with shell companies.”

Malik said Langa’s cousin Manoj and wife Kavita are partners in the “shell firm” DA Enterprise. “Manoj Langa gave a statement before a magistrate that this company was actually run by Mahesh Langa. Mahesh Langa’s wife also said she had no idea about the company. She is a housewife. If the police had some sort of vindictiveness, then… But we neither arrested his wife, nor his cousin. On record, they are both partners but we know they are innocent so we just arrested Mahesh Langa”, the Ahmedabad police chief said.

Regarding judicial procedures and modus operandi, the police statement said, “Statements under BNSS 183 (CrPC 164) have been deposed by the key witnesses, including Manoj Langa and others before the court, and police have obtained corroborative digital evidence to that effect. As per analysis of accounts, this money was not associated with the declared incomes or businesses run by Mahesh Langa. We have recovered technical evidence and statements.

It further added, “DA enterprise was being used to route money by artificially increasing expenses in the form of fake billings and receiving the cash in return. Money was transferred from DA enterprises to Dhruvi Enterprises. This money was withdrawn as cash and routed back to Mahesh through a hawala network. This method of cheating the exchequer helped Mahesh in evading 18% GST and allow him to carry over tax liability by using forged billings. He would receive the entire money (principal and tax) in cash through hawala operators. Similarly three other suspicious firms which are prima facie shell companies and who have done a total suspicious transaction of Rs 15,52,041 with DA enterprises have also been found and respected units have been informed and legal action will follow shortly.”

Malik, hinting at Langa being involved in another benami firm said, “In 2023 too, he had started another company… this time in the name of his sister-in-law Nayana Langa. There are several suspicious transactions from that firm (Nisarg Enterprises) as well but it is still under investigation.”

The ED had on October 17 conducted the first set of searches at 23 locations in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Veraval, Rajkot, Surat and Kodinar, including the registered addresses of the entities availing the input tax credit in this case. The ED’s Ahmedabad Zonal Office in a statement on Tuesday said that it had recovered and seized “incriminating documents” during the second set of searches in Ahmedabad, Surat and Bhavnagar districts.

Langa, who continues to be in judicial custody, was arrested on October 8 after a case was filed the previous day alleging involvement in a GST fraud based on the DGGI’s complaint. The second case, filed by Gandhinagar Police on October 22, named Langa as accused of theft and possession of confidential documents of the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB). The third case, according to a statement by the ED on Monday, was filed on charges of money laundering on October 27. The fourth case is for cheating, filed by the Ahmedabad DCB on October 28.