Kanpur: A 45-year-old e-rickshaw driver in Kanpur found herself at the centre of a Kafkaesque nightmare after the Income Tax department issued her a staggering Rs 16-crore notice. She claimed her identity was misused — Aadhaar, PAN and photos — to create a ghost bank account that churned through Rs 13 crore in trade and Rs 3 crore in shadowy transactions, leaving her to face the fallout. Two persons were arrested by the Panki police in this regard on Saturday.Police commissioner Raghubir Lal said on being tipped off, the accused, Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, alias Deepu Gupta, and Ajay Kumar Gupta were arrested following a raid near Lanka Tiraha.Archana Mishra, a resident of the Panki area, alleged that a man, on the pretext of helping her get a loan, opened an account in her name and misused it while her health and finances deteriorated.The victim initially filed a complaint at a police outpost, but when no action was taken, she approached the police commissioner on May 22. Following this, the police outpost in-charge was sent to the lines. Subsequently, a case was registered against the accused on the orders of the police commissioner.Archana alleged that she divorced her abusive husband in 2017 and later struggled financially after being diagnosed with uterine cancer. To support her two sons, she began driving an e-rickshaw and claimed she became the first woman in the city to do so, earning recognition from the then DM.She said that while seeking financial help, she came in contact with Ajay, who promised to arrange a loan through his maternal uncle. On his instructions, she handed over her Aadhaar card, PAN card, photographs and other documents, after which an account was opened in her name at an Axis Bank branch on Birhana Road. However, she alleged that the promised loan never materialised.She said that after about two months, when she contacted Ajay again, he told her the bank refused to grant her a loan. She said that when she later asked for her documents back, the accused told her her papers would not be returned from the bank.Archana alleged that despite submitting her documents, she neither received the promised loan nor relief from her illness. She arranged money on her own for surgery in May 2025 and later moved to Surat with her children after securing a job at a textile company through a relative.She said she first received a GST notice on March 11, 2026, but could not fully understand it due to limited education. After contacting Ajay, who allegedly threatened her and called her to Kanpur, she arrived there with her son on May 10. The following day, she received another notice and allegedly discovered that transactions worth around Rs 16 crore had been carried out through her account.Archana alleged that when she approached the Ratanpur police outpost with her complaint, but in-charge Ashutosh Dixit asked her to submit a written statement. She claimed he assured her this was necessary to apprehend the accused, but later took no action, prompting her to approach the police commissioner.ASP Amarnath said that following the complaint, Dixit was sent to the police lines on the police commissioner’s orders. He added that the woman’s complaint had now been registered at Panki police station and the matter was under investigation.
