Ramesh Chandramani (31), a resident of RT Nagar, is an ordinary security guard. With his meager salary of Rs 10,000, he doesn’t pay income tax. So when he received a notice from the income tax department demanding Rs 8.77 lakh for a transaction worth over Rs 2 crore, Chandramani was stumped.

A native of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu, Chandramani initially ignored the I-T notice, reasoning that it was not applicable to him. But as warning notices began coming regularly to his Vellore address, he set out to inquire into the whole affair.

At the I-T department, a series of shocks awaited him. First, he learnt that he was the MD of Majors SS Capitol Services on Brigade Road. He had an account in South Indian Bank and a transaction worth Rs 2.25 crore had been done through this account.

I-T officials asked him to provide documents for his transactions and pay Rs 9 lakh as tax, failing which he would face stringent action.

“I felt as of the world had come crashing down on me. I became suicidal but my friends and family members supported me and encouraged me to file a police complaint,” Chandramani said.

To uncover the fraud, Chandramani visited the company’s office in Mittal Towers and learnt that the company had shut down. He also discovered that the firm had a CBI case against it. “They did not respond to my queries. In the bank, I found that my signature had been forged. I asked them how can they open a current account without my physical presence and attach my PAN number,” he said.

He also tried to find the notary who attested his documents. Looking at the photographs submitted to open the account, he remembered that they were part of the documents he submitted while working as a security guard at JRG Security limited in HRBR Layout in Kalyan Nagar.

The firm’s MD, Santhosh Kumar, had also taken photocopies of his PAN card and address proof to open his salary account. He left the company in two months. Later, Kumar told Chandramani that his documents had been misplaced.

“Since they were just photocopies, I ignored them. But I did not know that I would pay such a huge price for it after a couple of years,” he told DH.

Chandramani went in search of JRG Security but to his dismay found that it was also closed following which he approached RT Nagar police and filed a complaint. The case has been now transferred to Banaswadi police station.

“I do not have money to pay tax. If officials wants to put me in jail, I will go as I am already in a lot of debt for attending this case and meeting I-T officials. Action should be initiated against bank officials and my previous MD Santhosh Kumar,” he told DH.