Maharashtra ACB books sales tax official, 16 traders for Rs 175 cr fraud

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A sales tax official and 16 others were booked in an alleged fraud that caused a loss of Rs 175.93 crore to the Maharashtra government, the Anti Corruption Bureau said on Friday.

The alleged scam took place between August 2021 and March 2022 at the state Goods and Service Tax (GST) department building in Mazgaon, the official said, according to newswire PTI.

"Amit Giridhar Lalage (42), posted as sales tax officer at GST Bhavan with charge of Ghatkopar Zone, Nodal 11 at the time, allegedly conspired with 16 traders who created forged and fake rent agreements and obtained GST numbers," he said.

"These traders did not pay any kind of tax to the state government in the form of GST, but submitted 39 applications to get Rs 175.93 crore as tax returns. Lalage deliberately did not verify these claims even though the GST portal showed they were dubious," he added.

By processing these returns and disbursing money to 16 traders, Lalage caused a loss of Rs 175.93 crore to the Maharashtra government, the official said.

Lalage and the 16 traders were charged under Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code provisions for cheating, forgery and other offences, the official added.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai police have arrested a man for allegedly sharing a video on social media, in which one person issued a death threat to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, an official said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Yogesh Sawant, was arrested on Thursday by Santacruz police from Panvel in neighbouring Raigad district, he said.

"Sawant had shared the video of an interview of a man given to a YouTube channel 'Gavran Vishleshan' on his social media account. In the interview, the man used objectionable remarks against deputy CM Fadnavis and issued a death threat to him," the police official said.

Based on a complaint filed by activist Akshay Panvelkar, a case was registered against an unidentified man for using the objectionable remarks against Fadnavis and against Sawant for sharing the video on his Facebook wall, he added. The video was widely circulated on social media platforms.

Following his arrest, the Santacruz police presented Sawant in a Mumbai court, which remanded him in 14-day judicial custody, the official said. (With inputs from PTI)