The Gujarat Police have booked journalist Mahesh Langa, who was arrested this month for alleged goods and services tax (GST) fraud, for alleged cheating. It is the third case against Langa. It was registered in Ahmedabad on Tuesday on the complaint of the owner of an advertising company.
The second case against Langa, the Hindu’s correspondent in Ahmedabad, was related to the Gujarat Maritime Board. The matter has been described as sensitive due to national security concerns as it pertains to ports.
In a statement, the Ahmedabad Police said that Langa maintained his persona as an investigative journalist and allegedly used it to access offices and personnel. It added he privately introduced himself to Indians and foreigners as a financial broker, land dealer, and lobbyist who worked for cash and kind.
The statement said Langa’s unexplained lavish lifestyle, including stays at five-star hotels and presidential suites, business and chartered flights, luxury clothes, and expensive foreign travel, prompted the authorities to involve the Income Tax Department in a separate investigation.
Hindu Publishing Group director N Ram Gujarat said if journalists are imprisoned or otherwise penalised for obtaining and analysing documents, much of investigative reporting would become extinct! “Support a journalist’s right to obtain and process a confidential or ‘sensitive’ official document in the line of his or her work. Condemn the Gujarat police’s charges on this count against The Hindu’s Gujarat-based senior journalist, Mahesh Langa,” he said in a post on X on October 26 after the second case was filed against Langa.
The third case was registered against Langa on the complaint of Pranav Shah, the owner of Khushi Advertising. Shah accused Langa of cheating him of ₹28.68 lakh.
Ahmedabad Police commissioner GS Malik said Shah claimed he transferred ₹23 lakh to Langa for advertisement work and paid about ₹5 lakh for a party the journalist hosted in September.
Police said Langa allegedly portrayed himself as an influential figure in the media and government and offered to assist Shah with advertising, claiming he could use his connections for positive news coverage and create a promotional portal.
Shah claimed to have paid Langa ₹23,00,000 through a friend’s company in March and June for Langa to purchase an office. Malik said Langa allegedly assured Shah that he would repay the amount in cash.
Shah allegedly organised the birthday party of Langa wife for ₹5,68,250 after the journalist assured him that he would reimburse this amount in cash. Langa allegedly refused to pay and intimidated Shah.
Malik said Shah has provided “substantial evidence” including bank transaction records.
Police said a complex web of shell companies, fraudulent transactions, and suspicious financial dealings has emerged from the investigation into Langa’s operations. They added it revealed an elaborate GST fraud that allegedly caused significant losses to the exchequer.
A Director General of GST Intelligence report said the investigation against Langa began with the discovery of a shell company named Dhruvi Enterprises registered using the credentials of a farm labourer. The company allegedly generated forged bills and falsely claimed input tax credits to evade GST. A case was registered against Dhruvi Enterprises and 12 other companies that had dealings with it on October 7.
DA Enterprises, a company co-owned by Langa’s wife, is at the center of the network. The firm’s suspicious growth trajectory caught investigators’ attention. From a modest turnover of ₹21 lakh in 2020-21, it suddenly skyrocketed to ₹6.7 crore by 2022-23. Langa’s cousin Manoj and one Vinubhai Patel registered the company in July 2020. Police said the company’s ownership structure changed when Langa allegedly orchestrated Patel’s removal and replaced him with his wife in October 2021.
Police said Langa allegedly ran the company’s operations and that they have obtained corroborative digital evidence.
Investigators said DA Enterprises allegedly transferred money through artificial inflation of expenses using fake billings. The money was allegedly transferred to Dhruvi Enterprises, which would withdraw it and send it back to Langa through a hawala network helping him evade 18% GST and allowing him to carry forward tax liability using forged bills.
Investigators, who carried out searches at 19 locations across Gujarat as part of their probe, said similar credentials – mobile numbers and PAN cards – were used to create approximately 220 suspected shell companies.
Langa allegedly started diverting money to Nisarg Enterprises, a company formed in 2023. His brother Manhar, a government school teacher, with his wife, Nayana Langa, owned, Nisarg Enterprises.
Malik said ₹20 lakh in unaccounted cash was recorded from Langa’s residence even as the annual declared income of the journalist and his wife was ₹9.48 lakh and ₹6.04 lakh until 2022-23.