The Income Tax Department has conducted search and seizure operations at multiple locations in Lucknow connected to individuals allegedly involved in orchestrating a large-scale fraudulent tax refund racket, specifically impersonating members of India’s armed and paramilitary forces.
According to official sources, the syndicate is accused of filing hundreds of fraudulent income tax returns (ITRs) by unlawfully using the Permanent Account Numbers (PANs) and personal details of serving personnel in the Army, CRPF, and BSF. The illegal refunds, estimated to be over ₹5 crore, were routed to bank accounts linked to shell entities and fake beneficiaries.
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Multiple Raids, Digital Forensics Underway
The Income Tax Department’s investigation began following red flags raised by the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) of the IT Department, which detected unusually high refund claims in clusters with identical filing patterns. Acting on intelligence inputs, the Department initiated coordinated raids at several premises — including residences, offices, and digital processing units — allegedly used for document fabrication and e-filing manipulation.
Investigators seized computers, forged salary slips, Aadhaar cards, bank passbooks, and rubber stamps that were reportedly used to fabricate refund claims. Digital forensic teams are now analysing mobile phones and laptops for transaction trails and communication logs with third-party agents.
Security Forces Victimised, Alerts Issued
Officials confirmed that most of the personnel whose PANs were misused were unaware of these filings and had neither applied for refunds nor engaged any agent. The scam has prompted alarm within the Ministry of Defence and Home Affairs, as it reflects a serious breach of data integrity and personal information misuse.
The IT Department is expected to issue advisories to all personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces and the Army to verify any suspicious filings in their names. Further arrests and summons are expected as the investigation continues to unravel a network of agents, data handlers, and bank mule account holders.