The custodial interrogation of journalist Mahesh Langa for his alleged involvement in a Goods and Services Tax-related scam is a “procedural overreach” and a “means to harass” him, news associations said on Thursday.
The statement came hours after Langa and other persons arrested for their alleged involvement in the matter were sent to 10-day police remand by an Ahmedabad court in Gujarat.
Langa works with The Hindu newspaper in Ahmedabad.
The police case hinges on a statement made by a relative of Langa, who said he was instructed by the journalist to carry out fraudulent transactions. The police have not found any transactions directly tying Langa to the alleged scam.
In a joint statement, the Press Club of India, Delhi Union of Journalists, Indian Women’s Press Corps, and the Press Association called Langa a “well-known and fearless” journalist. “His reports on developments related to Gujarat have been widely appreciated,” they said.
The statement added: “Whereas getting to the bottom of the issue is important, we feel that due process should not be compromised and accused persons not unduly harassed under the pretext of extended custodial interrogation.”
On Friday, Langa moved the Gujarat High Court against his police remand, reported Live Law.
The court listed the matter for October 14.
In its remand application, the police said that the custodial interrogation of the accused persons was required to uncover the conspiracy behind the alleged fraud.
Langa and the others were arrested after the Crime Branch, Economic Offences Wing and Special Operations Group of the Gujarat Police raided 14 locations in the state on Monday.
This came on a complaint by the Central Goods and Services Tax department, the Crime Branch said.
The complaint pertained to an alleged scam in which several bogus companies were said to have been floated to “defraud the government exchequer by availing bogus input tax credit”, it added.
Ajit Rajian, deputy commissioner of police at the Ahmedabad Crime Branch, told The Hindu that Langa’s wife had been named as the promoter of one such allegedly bogus firm suspected of creating fake bills.
Langa’s lawyer Vedanta Rajguru maintained that the journalist was neither a director nor a promoter of the company, which was mentioned in the first information report, the newspaper reported.
However, the police alleged that Langa managed the company using the names of his wife and relatives.
The company was owned by Langa’s relative Manoj Langa, while his wife is a silent partner with no rights to conduct transactions or access bank accounts, The Hindu reported.
In their statement on Thursday, the news associations also pointed out that Langa was neither the director nor the promoter of the company mentioned in the first information report
“No transaction and signature was reportedly found in the journalist’s name,” the statement said. “Even as the law should be allowed to take its own course, we feel that the custodial interrogation of Mahesh Langa is a procedural overreach and perhaps a means to harass an individual whose name doesn’t even feature in the primary FIR.”
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