Rs 155 crore scam: Trail leads to Amravati, Wardha, Chandrapur

 

 

Investigation into the Rs 155 crore scam has revealed that the prime conspirator, Santosh alias Bunty Rampal Shahu, along with his accomplices, used fake company addresses across Amravati, Wardha, Chandrapur, and various cities in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. To lend credibility to these bogus firms, the accused allegedly used forged PAN cards, Aadhaar cards, and address details belonging to citizens. According to a senior police official, Shahu meticulously orchestrated the fraud by registering addresses in multiple cities to facilitate the illusion of inter-city transport between his fake companies.

 

This tactic helped him create a web of fictitious transactions involving numerous bogus transport companies. Scooter used to ‘transport’ 40 tonnes of steel The Crime Branch, working in coordination with the GST office, discovered that addresses of 46 out of 113 fake companies were used to manipulate GST filings. During the transactions, Shahu reportedly used fraudulent transportation invoices. In another case, 40 tonnes of steel was allegedly transported using a vehicle whose registration number actually belonged to a scooter. In another incident, the accused claimed to have transported goods within Nagpur on a specific date, while toll booth records revealed the vehicle was actually in Mumbai at the time.

 

The police have begun contacting victims from various cities to record their statements and gather more evidence. So far, police have arrested five individuals in connection with the case: Santosh alias Bunty Rampal Shahu (52), Jayesh Rampal Shahu (36), both from Kapil Heights, Imambada; Brijkishore Ramvilas Maniyar (59) of Shankar Nagar, Rishi Hitesh Lakhani (21) of Shastri Nagar; Anand Vinod Harde (33) of Surya Nagar, Kalamna. It may be mentioned here that the investigation began after police received intelligence on two shell companies — Kshitij Enterprises and Awadh Enterprises — that were allegedly central to the illegal financial operation. Kshitij Enterprises is believed to have enabled dubious transactions for 113 fake companies, while Awadh Enterprises was linked to 57 such entities. Funds were allegedly funneled through these accounts and laundered using hawala routes, pointing to the involvement of a larger, organised financial syndicate.

 

 

Riyaz Ali alias Mamu from Mominpura, Govind Tanna, and Anuj Agrawal from Wardhaman Nagar and Anshul Mishra from Mankapur are still on the run and hiding. The police received intelligence that one of the accused had fled to Bihar.