On 23rd January, another FIR was registered against Mahesh Langa, a journalist working with the English newspaper The Hindu. He is already facing multiple cases, including GST fraud, cheating, and leaking government documents. The FIR was registered at the Satellite Police Station in Ahmedabad based on the complaint of a land broker named Janak Thakor under Section 308(2) of the Bharatiya Nayay Sanhita (BNS).
In the complaint, Langa is accused of taking ₹40 lakh, promising Thakor that his name would be mentioned in a newspaper article. Janak alleged in his complaint that in January 2024, Langa demanded Rs 20 lakh to mention his name in an article published in The Hindu. Later, he again demanded another Rs 20 lakh, bringing the total to Rs 40 lakh.
Thakor said that he met Langa about a year and a half ago at a café in Bodakdev. Over time, Langa allegedly told Thakor that he was a journalist with a prominent newspaper and also engaged in land brokerage. Langa reportedly claimed that he could resolve complex land issues, yielding significant profits. He allegedly assured Thakor that if his name appeared in the newspaper, it would bring him lucrative deals and commissions.
Langa even promised to help Thakor become a major builder and launch an IPO for his company, frequently borrowing cash while making grand claims. In January 2024, Langa told Thakor that he was writing an article on GIFT City and would mention his name. He suggested that publicity in a national newspaper would benefit Thakor’s business and enhance his reputation. Thakor alleged in his complaint that he was enticed by the prospect of gaining fame and agreed to Langa’s demand to pay him. Langa allegedly extorted Rs 20 lakh from him through such promises.
After the article featuring Thakor’s name was published on 26th January 2024, Langa’s behaviour reportedly changed. He began demanding more money, warning that if Thakor refused, he would use his political connections and contacts in the administration to ruin Thakor’s reputation by publishing negative articles and dragging him into false cases. Thakor alleges that these threats and Langa’s interference in certain matters caused him significant financial losses. In July 2024, fearing further damage, Thakor paid Langa an additional Rs 20 lakh in cash.
Despite this, Langa continued making demands, leaving Thakor hesitant to file a complaint due to Langa’s influential connections. However, after learning that Langa faced multiple other complaints, Thakor finally approached the police.
Arrest, lavish lifestyle and GST fraud
Langa was arrested on 8th October in this case under sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (forged document), 474 (punishment for possessing forged document), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Later, reports suggested that Langa led a lifestyle far beyond his salary, amassing crores of rupees over the past two years. Mahesh leveraged his position as a journalist to engage in blackmail, settlements, and illicit business activities, reportedly earning millions through these means. Additionally, his name had surfaced concerning the leak of sensitive government documents.
Despite an annual salary reportedly only in the lakhs, a recent Ahmedabad Crime Branch search at his home uncovered Rs 20 lakhs in cash. Police also recovered expensive jewelry and documents related to property holdings. It was also reported that Mahesh and his wife frequently visited luxury hotels like the Oberoi and Taj Man Singh. As per the revelations, he and his wife stayed in such establishments over 98 times in the past year without covering any of the costs themselves.
Investigations further revealed that the lavish lifestyle of the journalist was primarily funded through around 220 shell companies. He also frequently traveled by chartered flights, with fares amounting to lakhs. He even has a history of hosting an extravagant birthday party, inviting prominent businessmen and city officials. For this event, he reportedly paid a Rs 5 lakh advance for the hall and gifted gold coins to each guest.
It was also learned that Langa acquired government documents but did not use these for journalism. He rather used the documents to blackmail officials and government bodies. As Mahesh Langa was first brought for questioning by the Crime Branch, he claimed that he was being targeted by the government because of his work as a journalist, but this defense failed, and he was arrested.
During the investigation, it was determined that Langa had been in contact with specific officials, with chat logs to back this up located on his devices. A further police investigation found that Mahesh had gotten documents and other private information about the Gujarat Maritime Board, triggering a search of the GMB office in Gandhinagar.
After seizing several documents and materials, the Gandhinagar police registered another FIR against him at the Sector 7 police station. Another FIR was filed against Langa on 30th October after the authorities conducted massive raids against Langa across Gujarat. The FIR was filed by Pranav Shah, director of an advertising company named Khushi Enterprises, who claimed that Langa defrauded him of Rs 28 lakh, allegedly failing to return funds provided for specific work.
The first FIR against Langa pertains to the GST scam, while the second was filed by Gandhinagar police, which alleges that he exploited his position as a journalist to leak government documents. The second case is related to the Gujarat Maritime Board and it is a sensitive case due to national security concerns linked with it. The third FIR addressed the Rs 28 lakh fraud accusation, adding another accusation to the complex case against him. The fourth case involved the creation of four fake e-way bills and in December, the journalist was again arrested in a separate tax fraud case by the Rajkot police.
