Special Team To Probe Mahadev App Promoters' Transactions With Firms: D Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday informed the legislative assembly that a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe alleged illegal transactions between certain financial and real estate firms in the state and the promoters of the controversial Mahadev betting app.

Mr Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, was responding to a calling attention motion raised by BJP legislator Ashish Shelar.

Several betting apps like the Mahadev app have proliferated across the country and ordinary people were getting cheated of their money on these platforms, the BJP MLA said earlier.

The money collected through online transactions of the Mahadev app was used to create fake Indian documents for Bangladeshi citizens, and thousands of fake accounts were opened and fake transactions took place through the AU Small Finance Bank, he alleged.

A case of evasion of 28 percent Service Tax and excise duty has been registered in Maharashtra against the Mahadev app, he said.

"The second accused in the FIR, Amit Sharma, is the partner of the close aide of Mustaqeem, the brother of the Mumbai bomb blast case accused and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, and both are accused of operating the Mahadev App," Mr Shelar said.

Sharma and his partner allegedly invested money in Vijay Jain's JP Infra which is said to be carrying out projects in Mumbai's Goregaon and Mira Road areas, the BJP MLA claimed.

"Amit Sharma and Vijay Jain are constructing JP Deck in Goregaon and Edelweiss Group has financed it to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore," he alleged.

Mr Fadnavis said in his reply that the Enforcement Directorate was already investigating the Mahadev app case.

"As the scope of this crime is across the country, an SIT has also been formed in this case (by Maharashtra police)," he said, adding that it will carry out probe in the next two months based on the information provided by Mr Shelar.

As many as 16 accounts were created at the AU Small Finance Bank for depositing money for betting and playing online games through the Mahadev app and also for remitting the award money that had been won, and information of 15 bank accounts or account holders has been obtained, he said.

Edelweiss Group, meanwhile, refuted Mr Shelar's allegations.

"Edelweiss has no financial relationship with JP Infra Mumbai, JP Infra India, and has not financed projects like JP Deck in Goregaon, neither anywhere else as alleged," it said in a statement.

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