Ludhiana: An alleged scam involving
realisation of bogus income tax refund has come to light here
after a man tried to deposit "fake" refund cheques to the tune
of Rs 47 lakh, officials said on Saturday.
Police, on the complaint of Ludhiana Income Tax
Department, have registered a case against the man identified
as Ramesh but did not rule out the involvement of some I-T
officials in the scam.
"The investigations in this case are on," Ludhiana
Assistant Commissioner of Police Raj Kumar said.
The incident came to light when Ramesh, a resident of
Anand Nagar colony here, made an attempt to deposit a cheque
of Rs 47 lakh in the local main branch of State Bank of India.
When SBI officials asked him to produce Income Tax Advice
Number (ITAN), he could not do so despite the fact that the
refund cheque had signature of an Income Tax officer along
with department`s stamp.
The bank authorities immediately informed the police and
the IT department but the man, smelling trouble, escaped from
the spot.
IT officials remained tight-lipped about the episode but
sources in the department said a gang had been operating in
the city which claim huge amount of tax refunds while
presenting bogus cheques.
PTI
