Sitapur Police Uncover Complex Multi-State GST Scam, Arrest Four Including Mastermind
Sitapur Police Uncover Complex Multi-State GST Scam, Arrest Four Including Mastermind
In a major action against organised financial crime, Sitapur Police arrested four members of an interstate gang involved in large-scale GST fraud. The operation was carried out by Kotwali Nagar police along with the Surveillance Cell and SWAT team after gathering intelligence for several days. The accused were caught near the RMP School in Sitapur on Saturday night.
The arrested persons are Sona alias Ashish (23), Kuldeep Singh (22), and Vivek Kumar (20), all from Agra, and Suraj Rawat (22) from Almora, Uttarakhand. Police said that Sona alias Ashish was the mastermind behind the racket.
During the raid, police recovered Rs. 2.3 lakh in cash, eight mobile phones, three laptops, and 23 SIM cards from different telecom companies. They also seized six ATM cards, a PAN card, a cheque book, and three bank passbooks. Apart from this, 70 registration certificates, Aadhaar cards and their photocopies, electricity bills, property documents, and handwritten diaries related to fake companies were found. Two gold rings, a gold-coloured chain, and an SUV without a number plate were also recovered.
According to Sitapur ASP Vinayak Gopal Bhosale, the gang was operating a well-organised network across many states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. They created fake GST firms using forged or stolen identity documents. These fake firms showed false sales and purchases to illegally claim input tax credit (ITC), causing losses worth crores of rupees to the government.
Police said the gang tricked people by offering them jobs and collected their identity documents. These documents were then used to open fake companies in their names. During questioning, the accused admitted to creating more than 1,200 fake firms.
They used laptops, mobile phones, and multiple SIM cards to register fake firms, generate fake bills, and carry out transactions. The cash, jewellery, vehicle, and electronic items seized were reportedly bought using money earned from the fraud.
The gang also set up a fake firm named ‘PS Traders’ in Sitapur using a woman’s identity and carried out large-scale fake billing through it. Police believe the accused may have been involved in similar GST fraud cases in other districts as well. Further investigation is ongoing to find out the full scale of the network and identify other people involved.