Chhattisgarh Probe Agency Raids 29 Places In Mahadev Betting App Case

The Chhattisgarh Economic Offence Wing/Anti Corruption Bureau on Thursday conducted raids at 29 places in five districts in connection with the alleged Mahadev betting app scam unearthed during the previous Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel.

The EOW/ACB had registered a case in connection with the alleged Mahadev online betting scam in March this year based on a report submitted to it by the Enforcement Directorate. which is probing the money laundering angle.

"As a part of ongoing investigation into the case, various teams of the ACB/EOW launched raids this morning in 18 places in Durg district, seven locations in Raipur, two locations in Balodabazar and one each in Raigarh and Kanker," an ACB/EOW statement said.

In searches, electronic equipment, documents related to assets, slips related to Hawala (illegal channel for fund transfer), banks-related documents and other suspicious documents linked to the Mahadev app were seized and these are being examined, the release added.

"Meanwhile, Arjun Singh Yadav, an accused absconding for a long time in the case, was located in Pachmarhi (in Madhya Pradesh) and brought to the bureau office here for interrogation. He was arrested following his interrogation," the release said.

So far, the ACB/EOW has arrested seven people in the case, officials said.

The ACB/EOW's FIR in the alleged Mahadev betting app scandal has named former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as well as promoters of the app Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal and 14 others as accused.

The case was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 120b (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), among others, as well as sections 7 and 11 of Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2018.

As per the FIR, Mahadev book app promoters Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal created an online platform for live online betting and indulged in betting through Whatsapp, Facebook, Telegram and other social media platforms.

"The promoters conducted illegal acts of online betting through panel operators/ branch operators. They kept 70-80 per cent of illegal earnings with them and distributed the rest of the money to panel operators/ branch operators," it said.

Promoters and panel operators "fetched around Rs 450 crore per month through the online betting app after the (Covid) lockdown was imposed in 2020", it added.

These panel operators transferred illegal money to promoters in UAE through various bank accounts. while several police, administrative officers and influential political persons misused their positions and acquired illegal assets in the form of protection money from the promoters of Mahadev Book App, it said.

Provisional attachment of many immovable properties has been done by the ED, it said.

The ED filed two chargesheets in the Mahadev app-related money laundering case in Raipur court, including against Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. It had conducted multiple raids in the case earlier.

The projected proceeds of crime in this case are about Rs 6,000 crore, according to the ED.

The BJP has routinely targeted former CM Baghel in the case, who has hit back claiming the ED action was part of a "political conspiracy".

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)