Varanasi: PAN card of a student preparing for civil services in Delhi was misused for opening a fake firm with GST registration and applying for bank loan was reported to cyber police in the city. When his attempts to pay online failed, the student contacted his bank as well as GST authorities and found his account showing a negative lien of Rs 25,59,15,000. The loan was disbursed to Uttara Enterprises, with a registered address of B 54/4, Ashok Vihar Colony, Sarnath Road, Varanasi, using his PAN card details.ACP (Sarnath/crime) Vidush Saxena said on Saturday that on receiving complaint from the father of student Anurag Mishra, FIR was lodged and teams were investigating the matter. It is a case of financial and GST fraud, said ACP, mentioning that on being alerted by GST officials, the bank blocked transactions from the account with a negative lien, as a restriction on the account, preventing legitimate account holder from accessing their own funds.Anurag’s father, Kamlesh Kumar Mishra, resident of Manak Nagar, RDSO Colony in Lucknow, is currently residing in an apartment in Sarnath area here. He informed police that Anurag was staying in Karol Bagh, Delhi, preparing for UPSC exam and held a savings account in ICICI Bank, Hazratganj branch, Lucknow. Mishra said while in Delhi, Anurag had on Jan 17 tried to make an online payment at a library, but it failed despite repeated efforts. After that, he checked his bank account, which showed a negative lien of Rs 25,59,15,000. He contacted ICICI Bank customer care, which asked him to go to the nearest branch of the bank. When Anurag visited Hazratganj branch of the bank in Lucknow on Jan 19, he was sent to the GST office.On contacting GST officials, Anurag was informed that his PAN card had been used fraudulently to open a firm and seek loan. On detecting the fraud, GST officials alerted the bank, after which a negative lien was placed.Following these developments, Anurag’s father contacted cyber police in Varanasi. ACP Saxena said although the case was not in the purview of cyber fraud, it was registered.
