Mahadev app scam: CBI raids at Bhupesh Baghel’s residence. ‘Just before Delhi visit,’ responds former Chhattisgarh CM

Mahadev betting app case: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday conducted searches at the residence of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in connection with the alleged ₹6,000 crore Mahadev app scam, officials said.

The agency teams reached the residence of Baghel in Raipur and Bhilai as well as the residential premises of a senior police officer and a close associate of the former chief minister, they said.

The agency is tight-lipped about the matter in which the searches are taking place.

Bhupesh Baghel also reacted to these raids and said that he is scheduled to be in the Capital to attend the meeting of the Drafting Committee for the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to be held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, from April 8-9, linking the raids with his Delhi visit.

Searches were conducted at 60 locations across Chhattisgarh, Bhopal, Kolkata, and Delhi including premises linked to politicians, senior bureaucrats, police officers, key functionaries of Mahadev Book, and other private individuals suspected of involvement in the case.

Investigations have revealed that the Mahadev app promoters allegedly paid substantial amounts as "protection money" to public servants to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted functioning of their illegal betting network.

The CBI has taken over the investigation from the Economic Offences Wing of the Chhattisgarh Police, which had earlier named Congress leader Baghel, promoters of the app, Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni, and Anil Kumar Agrawal, and 14 others in its FIR.

Baghel had termed the EOW FIR "politically motivated." The case allegedly involves several high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh.

The ED conducted searches at the Baghel's residence, his son Chaitanya Baghel and others on March 10 in connection with a liqour scam case. Sources said the raids were conducted at a total of 14 locations across Chhattisgarh. A day later, Baghel had lashed out at the BJP and claimed it was done without the Election Commission's permission and to create a media hype.

What is the Mahadev app scam

The Mahadev app was an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for illegal betting websites to enroll new users, create user IDs and launder money through a layered web of 'benami' bank accounts, the ED claimed. The projected proceeds of crime are about ₹6,000 crore, the ED earlier said.

The online betting platform was promoted by Ravi Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar, both of whom are currently based in Dubai.

The agency has so far seized or frozen assets worth ₹2,295.61 crore. This includes cash worth ₹19.36 crore, valuables amounting ₹16.68 crore, and movable assets such as bank balances and securities worth ₹1,729.17 crore.

In November 2023, the ED investigated money laundering networks related to the Mahadev betting app and recovered ₹5.39 crore cash and ₹15.59 crore bank balance. The agency had also summoned many Bollywood actors and celebrities who are allegedly linked to the case.

ED searches at Baghel's residence

Speaking to reporters on March 10, Baghel said, “At around 7.30 in the morning I was reading the newspaper, ED came to my house and I welcomed them.”

Further explaining the turn of events, he said, "I asked them about the search warrant. He asked about my phone and I refused. We are an agricultural family and we have 140 acres of land. ED found around 33 lakhs from my home. "He further alleged the BJP of using investigative agencies to trouble opposition leaders and said, “The citizens of the country now know that the BJP uses CBI, ED to trouble others. If the search operation ended just in hours in the home of a former chief minister, then they did not find anything.”

ED's allegations

The ED has alleged that a cartel of government officials, politicians, and liquor businessmen ran a scheme that illegally collected around ₹2,161 crore from the sale of liquor in the state between 2019 and 2022.

The alleged scam involved manipulation of the liquor supply chain, where a cartel controlled the sale and distribution of alcohol through government-run shops. The agency has earlier conducted multiple raids, including on politicians and bureaucrats linked to the previous Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh.