The Gujarat Police on Tuesday filed yet another first information report against journalist Mahesh Langa on charges of allegedly cheating a businessman in Ahmedabad, the Deccan Herald reported.

This is the third case to be filed against Langa since October 8. He is being held at Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Central Jail.

The complainant in the case registered on Tuesday is Pranay Shah, who runs an advertising firm. Langa, a journalist with The Hindu in Ahmedabad, allegedly offered to help the businessman in getting “positive news” published about him by leveraging his political and bureaucratic contacts, according to the police.

Langa was allegedly paid a total of Rs 48 lakh at different times, the Deccan Herald reported, citing an unidentified official from the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch.

The journalist is already in judicial custody in an alleged Goods and Services Tax-related scam. The police have alleged that a company named Dhruvi Enterprise created six firms from a single Permanent Account Number to fraudulently receive input tax credit.

One of the companies named in the first information report, DA Enterprise, is owned by Mahesh Langa’s cousin Manoj Langa. The journalist’s wife is a silent partner in the firm with no rights to conduct transactions or access bank accounts.

Manoj Langa, however, has allegedly claimed that he was instructed by Mahesh Langa to carry out fraudulent transactions.

Langa was arrested in the case on October 7.

The police registered the second case against Langa on October 22 for allegedly possessing confidential government documents pertaining to the Gujarat Maritime Board. The documents were recovered from him during his arrest in the first case.

Press bodies have urged the police to withdraw the case against Langa for allegedly possessing confidential government documents.

A joint statement by the Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Association, Delhi Union of Journalists and Kerala Union of Working Journalists issued through the Press Club of India on Monday noted that journalists are likely to possess all kinds of documents from various sources as part of their commitment to serving the public interest.

The Editors Guild of India also issued a statement on Monday saying it had noted with concern the “worrisome” action against Langa.