Ever since Mahesh Langa, a left-leaning journalist for The Hindu was arrested by Ahmedabad Crime Branch on Tuesday (8th October), for alleged involvement in a multi-crore GST scam, the anti-BJP politicians and the media ecosystem has come out in Langa’s defence. The usual suspects have even accused the BJP government in Gujarat of exacting revenge against Mahesh Langa for writing articles against their policies.
Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, who is out on bail in his own little money laundering scam case, alleged that Mahesh Langa’s arrest is somehow the BJP government’s revenge. Moreover, the TMC MP accused the BJP of punishing Langa while also intimidating other journalists.
“This is Modi & BJP’s shameless Gujarat textbook for revenge which I’ve personally experienced,” Gokhale claimed.
The money laundering accused TMC MP went on to accuse central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, CBI etc as the ‘private mafias’ of the BJP.
“Mahesh Langa is a fearless journalist who has constantly shown truth to power. His arrest is an attempt to punish him for his work & to intimidate other journalists – a model that Modi has perfected in Gujarat over years,” the TMC MP alleged.
“Agencies like IT, GST, ED, CBI have become private mafias of the BJP. Gujarat Police is essentially an extended arm of the party ever ready to do their bidding. The 240-seat PM should realize that these tamashas need to end. Power doesn’t last forever & it almost slipped out of his hands very recently. Hope Mahesh Langa is freed by the courts soon & his personal liberty is restored. This cowardly act must be deplored.,” Gokhale said.
Journalist Smita Sharma also insinuated that somehow the BJP government got Mahesh Langa arrested as Langa was writing about the impact of the ban on Russian-origin diamonds on Gujarat’s diamond industry.
“Less than a week ago @LangaMahesh did a hard hitting report on the impact of the ban on Russian origin diamonds on Gujarat’s diamond industry and asked some sharp questions. Now he is arrested,” Sharma posted on X.
Similarly, Journalist and founding editor of Reporters’ Collective, Nitin Sethi vouched for Mahesh Langa’s integrity saying that he doesn’t pander to powers and that he has known him for two decades.
“A journalist that doesn’t pander to the powers that be. Mahesh Langa. I have known him for last 2 decades,” Sethi posted.
Meanwhile, former TheQuint reporter Mekhala Saran deemed Mahesh Langa’s arrest another nail in the coffin of India’s press freedom. “No journalist in India is safe until all journalists in India are safe. Mahesh Langa’s arrest is another nail in the coffin of press freedom,” Saran wrote on X.
NDTV reporter Gargi Rawat called Mahesh Langa one of the best journalists in Gujarat and said: “Mahesh Langa is a one of the best journos currently in Gujarat. Hope he emerges from this.”
Journalist Asmita Nandy called Langa’s arrest ‘bizarre’ and said: “This is bizarre! @LangaMahesh is one of the very few kind and extremely helpful seniors you’ll meet in journalism. Has been a fierce critic of the ruling dispensation, a rare independent voice in Gujarat and his work has exposed many a crime.”
One writer and political analyst Raju Parulekar claimed that Mahesh Langa is paying the price of writing ‘truth’ and said: “सच की क़ीमत का हिसाब पुतिन और मोदानी को.”
The insinuation by all of these “journalists” and politicians was simple – they pronounced Mahesh Langa innocent and claimed that his arrest was a vendetta by the BJP government because Langa wrote articles critical of the government. None of those who came out in defence of Langa actually told their readers what the charges against him were and what the authorities had seized from his home, implicating him in the scam.
What is the GST scam and what the FIR says?
The left-liberal ecosystem defends anyone from their side arrested for their involvement in illegal or even anti-national activities, as seen in the case of Umar Khalid, to make a hero out of them who is projected as someone ‘fighting’ against the ‘fascist’, ‘Hindutva’ regime, the attempts are underway to carve out a similar image of Mahesh Langa. It is thus, pertinent to understand why Langa was arrested.
The Ahmedabad Crime Branch conducted raids at 14 locations, including Ahmedabad, Junagadh, Surat, Kheda, and Bhavnagar. Over 33 individuals involved in running 12 bogus firms were arrested. In connection with this Rs 200 crore GST scam, the Crime Branch arrested Langa and is questioning him.
Himanshu Joshi, the Zonal Director of the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), filed a complaint with the Ahmedabad Crime Branch, alleging that a bogus company was registered under Dhruvi Enterprise. This company fraudulently obtained input tax credit by creating over 200 fake firms nationwide, generating fraudulent invoices worth billions. The total value of fraudulent billing in Gujarat has surpassed Rs 50,000 crore.
The FIR says that the scam took place between February 2023 and May 2024 and the complaint describes how a fraudulent lease agreement was lodged online to the Ahmedabad GST department under the name Dhruvi Enterprise. A GST number was subsequently obtained, and a criminal conspiracy was hatched with the owners of other firms to gain phoney input tax credits through fraudulent invoicing, forged documentation, and misrepresentation, contributing to huge revenue losses for the government.
Suspicious transactions, unaccounted gold and cash were seized from the house of Mahesh Langa
Speaking about the GST scam and Mahesh Langa’s involvement, Deputy commissioner of police, city crime branch, Ajit Rajian said: “The central GST had found some suspicious transactions in bogus firms floated in the name of journalist Mahesh Langa’s wife and father using forged documents.”
DCP Rajian added that the crime branch officials have seized Rs 20 lakh in cash and unaccounted gold from Mahesh Langa. The police said that the Dhruvi Enterprise named in the FIR issued 12 invoices to fake companies. Among these bogus companies, one DA Enterprise was registered in the name of Manoj Langa and Vinu Patel.
While the actual extent of the scam and the further role of Mahesh Langa and his family in it remains a matter of investigation, the left-liberal ecosystem is desperately attempting to project Langa as a victim of the BJP government’s supposed ‘revenge’. However, the facts emerging in the case suggest that Langa’s arrest and subsequent questioning are solely based on his alleged role in the scam and neither due to his ideological opposition to the BJP nor due to his ‘critical’ articles.
