Mohammed Rafiq Chhipa and Dharmaram Bavaria arrested by a team of central GST from Vadodara during a raid at an illegal gutka manufacturing facility ,were denied bail by the court. They claimed innocence saying that they worked at the facility as manager and a worker since past couple of months and there are no allegations that they have evaded any tax. However their bail pleas were denied by the district government pleader Anil Desai by arguing that the kingpin is yet to be arrested and since there is tax evasion to the tune of Rs 110 crore, the duo’s custodial interrogation is necessary. Granting bail would also affect the ongoing investigation of the case. The court of in-charge chief judicial magistrate G J Shah upheld the arguments and turned down their bail applications.
The Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) officials had raided the factory in Halol town on January 16 and had seized incriminating goods, documents and vehicles.
