In a major breakthrough, the Noida unit of Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Baldev alias Balli, a key fugitive in a multi-crore GST fraud case. Carrying a Rs 50,000 reward on his head, the 38-year-old from Hisar, Haryana, was nabbed from his hideout on Friday evening.
The operation stemmed from a case registered at Sector-20 police station in Gautam Buddh Nagar. Balli was wanted in this scam along with three other cases. STF teams, under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Mishra and led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Navendu Kumar, had been tracking him through meticulous intelligence gathering.
Acting on a tip-off, the team raided Ravidass Chowk in Dogran Mohalla, Hisar, around 7 PM. With local police support, they apprehended Balli without resistance. During interrogation, he revealed his background: an MBA graduate from Punjab University in 2012, he initially ran a medical store in Hisar that failed to turn a profit.
Shifting to used car trading in 2014, Balli connected with Delhi’s Archit Goyal. Lured by quick money, they formed a syndicate that misused PAN cards of unsuspecting individuals to register over 3,500 bogus GST firms. These shell companies generated fake invoices worth crores, claiming illegitimate input tax credits and issuing e-way bills to siphon off massive GST dues.
Investigations point to the scam exceeding Rs 15,000 crore. It surfaced prominently when journalist Saurabh Dwivedi discovered his PAN used for a fake firm and filed a complaint at Sector-20 station. Several gang members were arrested earlier, with cases under Gangster Act invoked, but Balli evaded capture until now.
The accused has been handed over to Sector-20 police for further proceedings. With multiple charges including Gangster Act pending, this arrest marks a significant step in dismantling the fraudulent network plaguing India’s tax system.