Purshottam Chavan, a key figure in the alleged Rs 263 crore Income Tax Refund (ITR) fraud case, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday. The arrest was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for his involvement in the possession of part of the Proceeds of Crime (POC). Chavan, who is the husband of a senior IPS officer from Maharashtra, was produced before a special PMLA court and remanded to ED’s custody until May 27.
While the ED has not found evidence implicating the IPS officer in assisting her husband, she had played a crucial role in apprehending suspects in the ‘Bulli Bai’ app or Clubhouse cases in 2022, involving the posting of images of Muslim women and sharing objectionable content in chatrooms.
Prior to Chavan’s arrest, the ED had already apprehended four individuals in connection with the fraud case. These included former Income-Tax officer Tanaji Mandal Adhikari, Bhushan Patil, and Rajesh Shetty, who are in judicial custody, and Rajesh Brijlal Batreja, who is in ED custody. Adhikari, arrested by the Central agency last year, is alleged to have orchestrated fake Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) refunds amounting to Rs 263 crore during his tenure at the I-T Department’s Mumbai office.
The ED’s investigation stems from an FIR registered by the CBI, Delhi, against Adhikari and others for fraudulently issuing TDS refunds from the Income Tax department. The agency revealed that Chavan and Rajesh Batreja were in regular communication, exchanging incriminating messages related to hawala transactions and diversion of proceeds of the crime.
In a related development, the ED conducted raids at Chavan’s residence and seized several property documents, foreign currency, and mobile phones. The agency alleges that Chavan attempted to obstruct the investigation by destroying evidence. The ED has already seized and attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs 168 crore belonging to the accused in Maharashtra and Karnataka.