Meerut (UP), Dec 22 (UNI)- The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh police has arrested a hotel owner from Meerut district here in Uttar Pradesh on charges of evading Goods and Services Tax (GST) amounting to Rs 100 crores through the creation of counterfeit e-way bills, an official spokesman said on Friday.
The spokesman said that the arrested individual, identified as Qamar Ahmed Kazmi, reportedly has ties to slain mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed. “Kazmi, who is a distant relative of Atiq Ahmed, is known to have business interests extending beyond Meerut to Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Uttarakhand, and Dubai,” he said.
He said that Kazmi owns eight major glass manufacturing companies in the country and the Broadway-in Hotel in Meerut. “The Lucknow unit of the STF had received information about the fraudulent activities, leading to a confidential investigation conducted in collaboration with the Meerut STF,” he said.
The spokesman said that Kazmi was apprehended late on Thursday night and during the arrest authorities recovered a mobile phone, a Mercedes car along with cash from his possession.
STF Superintendent of Police Brajesh Singh said that that Kazmi, who had recently returned from Dubai, underwent extensive interrogation at the STF office before his arrest. “The GST team is currently scrutinising documents recovered from the businessman in connection with the alleged evasion,” he said.
It may be noted that in 2022 the Income Tax Department carried out search at Kazmi’s residence on West End Road, Cantt, revealing several irregularities.
Senior Superintendent of Police Rohit Singh Sajwan confirmed that the Lucknow unit of the STF has apprehended Kazmi and turned him over to the Civil Lines police station for further investigation. He said that on-going interrogations are expected to unveil the full extent of the matter in due course.
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