Mahadev betting app case: ED conducts raid in West Bengal, Mumbai, NCR
- Enforcement Directorate conducts raids at multiple locations in Mahadev app probe, including West Bengal, Mumbai, and NCR, as per ANI.
The Enforcement Directorate is conducting raids at more than 15 locations across the country as part of the Mahadev app probe. The raids are being conducted in West Bengal, Mumbai, and the National Capital Region (NCR), according to the ANI news agency.
So far the federal agency has made nine arrests in connection with its money-laundering probe into the alleged illegal operations of the Mahadev online gaming and betting application that purportedly involve high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh.
ED has arrested Nitish Diwan, close to the promoters of the Mahadev app; Nitin Tibrewal, a resident of Kolkata; Raipur-based Amit Agrawal; alleged cash courier Asim Das; police constable Bheem Singh Yadav; Assistant Sub-Inspector Chandrabhushan Verma; Anil and Sunil Dammani, alleged "hawala" operator, and a man identified as Satish Chandrakar.
ED had summoned several celebrities, including Bollywood actors, on their links with the online betting platform and the mode of payment.
So far, the ED has filed two chargesheets in the case, including against the two main promoters of the alleged illegal betting and gaming app -- Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal.
According to officials, Chandrakar and Uppal were recently detained in Dubai on the basis of an Interpol red notice issued at the behest of the ED.
The anti-money laundering agency is trying to get them deported or extradited from the UAE to India.
The ED has alleged in the first chargesheet that Chandrakar got married at Ras Al Khaimah, UAE in February 2023 and an amount of about ₹200 crore "in cash" was spent on the event.
Private jets were hired to ferry Chandrakar's relatives from India to the UAE and celebrities were paid to perform at the wedding, the agency has alleged.
The projected proceeds of crime in the case are about ₹6,000 crore, according to the agency.
In November last year, just before the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls, the ED had claimed that a forensic analysis and the statement of Asim Das had led to "startling allegations" that the Mahadev betting app promoters had paid about ₹508 crore to former chief minister of the state and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel.
Baghel had called these charges an attempt to "malign" his image, while the Congress had described the development as a result of "vendetta politics" of the BJP-led Centre.
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First Published:28 Feb 2024, 10:45 AM IST
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