A humble mason from Multai, Madhya Pradesh, is at the center of a financial storm after receiving a jaw-dropping income tax recovery notice of ₹314.79 crore. Chandrashekhar Panditrao Kohad, who has spent years laying bricks in and around Nagpur, was left speechless when officials from the Income Tax (IT) Department traced him to his hometown with the massive dues.
“I’ve never even seen ₹1 lakh at once,” said the 50-something mason, whose daily earnings range between ₹300 and ₹500. His family is in shock—his wife has slipped into depression, and Kohad himself is already battling kidney and heart ailments.
The notice, related to the assessment years 2014-15 and 2015-16, has sent ripples across the quiet town of Multai. Officials say the eye-popping figure is linked to suspicious transactions—believed to total nearly ₹3 lakh crore—through a current account Kohad opened around 15 years ago at a credit cooperative society in Nagpur.
Kohad suspects foul play. “An agent who helped me open the account also took my documents and phone number. But the account was never linked to my number. I think someone used my identity for illegal transactions,” he explained.
The IT Department first issued a notice in December 2024 to Kohad’s old Nagpur address. With no response, they initiated recovery proceedings, even directing Multai Municipal Council to confiscate his house. It took a week of searching to finally locate the elusive mason.
Experts believe Kohad may be a victim of a mule account scam—where fraudsters park illicit money in the accounts of unsuspecting people to avoid scrutiny. These accounts often pass banks’ checks due to valid KYC documents.
As investigations unfold, Kohad’s case is a stark reminder of how vulnerable the economically disadvantaged can be to identity misuse. The Income Tax Department and banks now face tough questions on how such massive sums moved undetected through a simple mason’s name.