News Brief
Former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel Named In Mahadev Betting App Case, Accused Of Receiving Rs 5.39 Crore Cash
Nishtha Anushree
Mar 17, 2024, 04:04 PM | Updated 04:04 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has been named as an accused in the Mahadev betting app case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating the case.
An FIR was filed by the state police earlier this month on ED's complaint that mentioned the app's promoters amassing around Rs 5,000 crore through illegal betting.
A supplementary Prosecution Complaint (PC) was filed by the central investigation agency in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur in January this year.
PC is equivalent to a chargesheet and named five people including Subham Soni, one of the promoters of Mahadev Online Book, and a driver named Asim Das for allegedly delivering cash to Baghel.
PC mentions that on being arrested on 3 December 2023, Soni asked Das to give Rs 5.39 crore to Baghel. It is alleged that this was "protection money", however, the Congress denies it.
Baghel has termed his name being in the charge sheet a "political conspiracy" and that "ED, at the behest of its political masters, is arresting people fraudulently and pressuring" people to give statements against him.
The FIR also mentions unnamed bureaucrats, police officers and Officers on Special Duty (OSD). Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal have been named as the main promoters of Mahadev Online Book.
They used to run operations from Dubai and a Red Corner Notice (RCN) has been issued against them to extradite them to India. The ED has frozen or seized Rs 1764.5 in the case till now.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.