Ambur Man’s Bank Account Frozen Over Fake GST Dues, Leaving Him Without Pension

A senior resident of Ambur said on Thursday that he feels helpless because his bank account was frozen due to a GST fraud that happened two years ago, and now he can’t receive the pension he depends on.

E. Velayudham, who lives in Maligaithoppu, depends on a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 that his late wife earned while working in a private shoe factory. But the pension stopped coming into his bank account in 2023. When he went to the bank recently to ask why, officials told him that his account had been frozen because he supposedly owed nearly Rs 1 crore in GST.

Velayudham said he never knew anything about this. He mentioned that although a notice was sent two years ago, he never got to see it. He believes his bank account and documents, including his Aadhaar card, were misused by unknown people to commit GST fraud and run a company in his name.

He added while speaking to reporters, “In 2001, both my hip bones broke. After recovering, it was only in 2012 that I began working as a security guard. I worked for three years. During the course of my work, I suffered a heart attack and underwent surgery. After the surgery, I have been homebound. My son provides food, but for all my other needs I depend on the pension.”

Velayudham says that when he went to the Ambur police station, the officers told him to go to the GST office in Vellore. But when he went there, the GST officials told him they would only help if he brought a copy of a police complaint filed in Ambur. He said, “I have visited Ambur police station four times, but they are not taking my complaint”.

In the past few years, many GST fraud cases have come up in Ambur, Vaniyambadi, and nearby areas. The district police admit that these cases are hard to investigate because many different people are usually involved.