MUMBAI: Hiten Bhagat, a suspected high-profile liaisoner, allegedly convinced a former company executive to pay nearly ₹ 8 crore on the promise of getting a hefty GST liability settled, even allegedly continuing to direct the money transfers while he was in Byculla Jail. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has now booked Hiten alias Romi Bhagat and his associate Akash Gupta for allegedly cheating BWW Global Pvt Ltd of ₹ 7.99 crore and threatening the complainant.
The case was registered following a complaint by Amit Tipnis, a Dadar resident who worked as the company’s country manager. Tipnis followed the advice and filed the case. Bhagat later allegedly offered to help Tipnis settle the GST liability. Tipnis eventually realised that the promised GST settlement work was not being done and approached the police.
Police said the company’s operations shut during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, after which its financial liabilities began mounting. A company officer, Sachin Adhikari, allegedly blamed Tipnis for a GST liability of around ₹ 11 crore. In September 2023, Tipnis met Bhagat through a lawyer. But in January 2024, Bhagat was arrested and lodged in Byculla Jail. In 2024, officers had found several Enforcement Directorate documents and three automatic weapons at his residence, police said.
Bhagat first told him to file a case against Adhikari in Assam, where the company was headquartered, according to police. Police said Bhagat continued to communicate with Tipnis from jail. “During incarceration, Bhagat asked Tipnis to meet him in Byculla Jail and told him he would not be in jail for long and that he should transfer the GST settlement money immediately to the bank accounts whose details were provided by him,” said a police officer. Gupta allegedly reinforced Bhagat’s instructions and told Tipnis to transfer the money to various accounts. Police said Gupta also threatened that Tipnis’s bank accounts would be frozen using contacts in the GST department. Some of the accounts were subsequently frozen, according to the complaint.
Bhagat has previously figured in a crime branch investigation.
