Chhattisgarh govt recommends CBI probe into Mahadev betting app fraud cases
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The Chhattisgarh government has decided to transfer the cases related to the alleged Mahadev betting app scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said on Monday.
The government issued a notification last week approving the CBI probe, he said.
The alleged scam became the centrepiece of the BJP’s campaign during the Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh. Prominent accused named in the FIR include former chief minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel.
It is notable that the Enforcement Directorate has been investigating money laundering cases related to the Mahadev app scam for over a year now. This scam came to light when the Baghel-led Congress government was in power.
“70 cases related to the alleged Mahadev app scam have been filed with various police stations in Chhattisgarh and one case is with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). We have decided to transfer all these cases to the CBI and a report has been filed,” Sharma told reporters.
This issue (Mahadev betting app scam) is a multi-state case and not limited to Chhattisgarh, he said, adding that some of the kingpins are based abroad. The CBI will investigate this matter seriously.
“There will be no leniency and strict measures will be taken. I believe (accused persons) living abroad will be brought back,” he said.
The notification issued by the Chhattisgarh Home Ministry on August 22 mentioned the government’s consent to extend state-wide powers and jurisdiction to members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to investigate registered offences against perpetrators operating and using Mahadev online gambling platforms and other related platforms.
The cases were registered under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 201 and 120 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 7 and 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1958 (amended in 2018), Sections 4, 7, 8 and 11 of the Gambling Act, 1867 (amended as Public Gambling MP Amendment Act, 1976) at ACB/EOW police stations in Raipur district, it said.
After the BJP seized power in Chhattisgarh by defeating the Congress in the elections, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registered an FIR in March under Sections 120b (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and the Prevention of Corruption Act of the Indian Penal Code, based on an ED report.
Police have so far arrested 11 people in connection with the ‘scam’, with the proceeds from the crime estimated to be worth Rs 60 billion.
Prominent accused named in the EOW’s FIR include former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel, app founders Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal, and 14 others.
Baghel termed the FIR ‘politically motivated’.
According to the ED, the investigation has exposed the involvement of several high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh. Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who run the betting platform through franchising panels/branches from Dubai, are also from Chhattisgarh.
The app was an umbrella syndicate that organised online platforms through which illegal gambling websites could register new users, create user IDs and launder money through a multi-layered network of ‘benami’ bank accounts, the foreign ministry alleged.
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First publication: Aug 26, 2024 | 5:07 PM IST