From Puncture Repair to a ₹100 Crore Tax Nightmare: A Gorakhpur Man’s Ordeal

A simple roadside mechanic finds himself at the center of a massive CGST investigation after his identity documents were allegedly hijacked for a shell company.

Raj Prajapati’s daily routine in Gorakhpur was defined by the hiss of air compressors and the grit of roadside repair work. That was until a postal delivery changed everything. Expecting a routine letter, Prajapati opened a document that threatened to dismantle his life: a summons from the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) department alleging he was the proprietor of a firm involved in a ₹100 crore business turnover, with a staggering ₹28 crore in unpaid taxes.

The shock was immediate. For a man who struggles to make ends meet, the astronomical figures were not just overwhelming—they were incomprehensible. As the original details of the shocking case began to emerge, it became clear that Prajapati was the victim of a sophisticated identity fraud. The primary source reports indicate that his nightmare began in 2024, when he sought a small loan for his sister’s wedding.

A local acquaintance had offered to help secure the funds, but there was a catch: the man demanded Prajapati’s Aadhaar and PAN cards, alongside video recordings and signatures. Trusting the individual during a time of personal financial distress, Prajapati complied. Unbeknownst to him, those documents were used to incorporate "M/s Gadgetric Technology Private Limited" and open a private bank account in his name, far from his humble puncture shop.

Uncovering the Scam

The fraud remained hidden until February 2026, when tax officials in Varanasi flagged the company for massive irregularities. By the time the notice reached the shopkeeper’s doorstep in May, the trail had already led investigators to his identity. Fearing he would be held accountable for a crime he didn’t commit, Prajapati rushed to the AIIMS police station to file a formal complaint. He has since pleaded for an impartial probe, insisting that his documents were misused to build a shell company he never authorized.

Why it matters

This case is a cautionary tale about the vulnerability of the informal sector in India’s digital economy. The ease with which a person’s KYC credentials can be weaponized to create shell companies highlights a glaring gap in regulatory oversight. While the CGST department is doing its job by tracking tax evasion, the "Gorakhpur" incident exposes how the most marginalized citizens often become the public face of large-scale white-collar crimes.

This is not an isolated occurrence; it is a recurring pattern where phantom directors are used to facilitate GST fraud. If the system relies solely on document verification without robust biometric or physical authentication for new business registrations, innocent individuals like Raj Prajapati will continue to be ensnared in bureaucratic traps, left to prove their innocence while the true perpetrators vanish behind layers of forged paperwork.