High Court denies Anticipatory Bail to Tax Evasion Suspect in Rs.24 Crore Fraud Case:

High Court denies Anticipatory Bail to Tax Evasion Suspect in Rs.24 Crore Fraud Case The Bombay High Court has refused anticipatory bail to Manish Sen accused of tricking job seekers into opening multiple bank accounts used for high-value transactions leading to Rs.24 crore in tax evasion. Justice Sarang V Kotwal emphasized the necessity of a thorough investigation and custodial interrogation to uncover the full scope of the conspiracy. The hearing revealed how Sen deceived people using fake documents and multiple bank accounts. The case started with a complaint from Ritesh Patil, a contract worker with the Thane Municipal Corporation. In January 2022, Patil responded to a job ad near Thane railway station. One of Sen's associates, Vaibhav, promised Patil a job as a peon at a bank. Vaibhav took Patil's photos, biodata, Aadhaar, and PAN cards to open an account at Punjab and Sind Bank pretending it was for job formalities. Later, Vaibhav claimed there was an issue with this account and had Patil open another account at Equitas Small Finance Bank, taking all his documents, passbook, debit card, chequebook, and signatures on blank cheques. In February 2023, Patil got a letter from the GST office saying he was the director of a company called M/s Magic Royal Bullion Pvt Ltd, which he knew nothing about, and owed nearly Rs.24 crore in taxes. Police found out that Sen and his group used Patil's identity to open many bank accounts including one at Kotak Mahindra Bank in Chembur. They also discovered another victim, Subhash Kumar Tailor, who was promised a job by Raju Singh. Raju collected Tailor's Aadhaar and PAN cards to open bank accounts in his name and made him a director of Magic Royal, leading to big fake transactions and GST notices. Tailor explained that he followed Sen and his team's instructions, thinking it was part of the job procedure. During video calls, both Patil and Tailor were told to show their ID cards, which were then used to open fake accounts and make transactions worth crores of rupees. The court stressed how serious and complex the fraud was. Evidence showed Sen's direct involvement through his transactions with Wixow Enterprises and a phone number tied to Magic Royal, leading to the denial of his bail request.