What started as a simple life for a roadside eatery cook has turned into a nightmare. Ravindra Singh Chauhan, a resident of Bhind and currently working at a dhaba in Gwalior for just Rs 10,000 a month, discovered that transactions worth Rs 40.18 crore had taken place in a bank account opened in his name. He came to know of it only when the Income Tax Department served a notice at his home.
Ravindra recalls that in 2017, while working at the Mehra toll plaza, he met a supervisor named Shashi Bhushan Rai. Two years later, in 2019, Rai convinced him to travel to Delhi under the pretext of a casual visit. There, Rai opened a bank account in Ravindra’s name, telling him that his provident fund would be deposited into it. Ravindra returned to Gwalior and later moved to Pune for work, completely forgetting about the account.
In April this year, the Income Tax Department sent a notice to Ravindra’s Bhind residence. His family could not understand it since the notice was in English. A second notice arrived in July, after which his family informed him. Alarmed, Ravindra quit his Pune job and rushed home. With the notice in hand, he consulted lawyer Pradyumn Singh in Gwalior, who revealed the shocking truth: transactions worth Rs 46.18 crore had been made through the account.
“When I heard this, the ground slipped from beneath my feet,” Ravindra said. He rushed to the police station, but no FIR was registered. Police told him to go to the Delhi branch where the account was opened.
A COMPANY IN HIS NAME
According to lawyer Singh, Shashi Bhushan Rai had used Ravindra’s PAN and Aadhaar to open the account and even floated a firm named Shaurya International Traders in his name. Through this company, transactions worth Rs 40.18 crore took place until 2023. While the transactions have now stopped, Rs 12.5 lakh still remains in the account.
“The scale of money movement indicates it may have been a case of laundering black money into white,” Singh alleged, adding that police have not taken action despite complaints. With no recourse left, Ravindra has now approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
VOICES FROM THE CASE
Ravindra Singh Chauhan, cook: “I went to the police but they refused to lodge an FIR. I complained everywhere but no one helped. Now my only option is to fight this in the court.”
Pradyumn Singh, lawyer: “The account was misused to float a company and launder ocoresf rupees . The Income Tax Department acted after verifying the details. Ravindra, a poor cook, has been dragged into this mess without his knowledge.”
