On Thursday, 19th September, Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, launched a probe into a fake PAN card scam, which some BJP officials have described as a ‘PAN card jihad’. This is after Mumbai BJP Vice President Acharya Pawan Tripathi filed a complaint with Fadnavis, who directed the Mumbai Police Commissioner to examine the fraudulent PAN card case.
Acharya Pawan Tripathi, a BJP leader, turned over documentation of a fraudulent PAN card for the Malvani region in the Malad West Assembly constituency, a Mumbai suburb. He stated that in several Muslim-dominated communities, there were reports of more PAN cards being registered in the name of a population that probably doesn’t exist. He collected the proof and presented the before the DyCM who ordered an inquiry into the matter.
Tripathi claimed that bogus PAN cards were being manufactured on a massive scale by members of a specific group. According to him, thousands of people in Muslim-dominated areas were systematically given bogus PAN cards. In the records of the Income Tax Department, more PAN cards have been found than people surviving.
According to Acharya Tripathi, fake PAN cards could be used for unlawful transactions and money laundering. Acharya Pawan Tripathi has further hinted at the prospect of mass-producing false Aadhaar cards, voter cards, ration cards, and Ayushman cards, similar to fraudulent PAN cards.
He also in the complaint has presented Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with evidence of several PAN cards issued to the same person. This accused individual is claimed to be from the Malvani complex in the Malad assembly constituency. Tripathi has urged a comprehensive inquiry into the scam, as well as the exposure of the gang.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has urged the Mumbai Police Commissioner to take appropriate action in this regard and has requested that the central investigative authorities be notified immediately. According to Acharya Pawan Tripathi, people from a particular group are carrying out PAN card jihad by creating fraudulent PAN cards. Tripathi suggests that the fraud in Malvani, Malad West, could be the result of a larger conspiracy.
