After being named an accused in the Central Bureau of Investigation’s probe into the Mahadev betting app case, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel questioned the legality of the move and accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party governments at the Centre and state of trying to “politically murder” him.
The governments were “trying to protect” the main suspects in the case, he told the media Wednesday.
Baghel was addressing a press conference at his official residence. According to CBI sources, the FIR, which claims that the Mahadev Online Book provides an online platform for illegal betting on various fronts — including live sports and elections, and accuses – names Baghel and 18 more suspects in connection with the case. The FIR was filed in December.
Speaking to the media Wednesday, Baghel claimed that although the FIR was registered four months ago, he received a copy that earlier day.
“Why did they wait for four months? Also, the contents of the FIR are the same which was registered by ED and then EOW and now the CBI. Secondly, the Government of India has no law for betting. The lawful sections mentioned in the FIR are from the British era and the other state law mentioned in the FIR was made by us in 2022. Today, online betting is still going on. I have heard Rs 40,000 crore bets are being placed on Mahadev app,” he claimed.
He also questioned aspects of the FIR – such as how it was “unclear” who owns the app. While the FIR was based on a statement given by Shubham Soni — one of the suspects in the case who had claimed to be the owner of the app – the FIR names kingpin Sourabh Chandrakar as being the owner of the various betting apps, including Mahadev, Baghel said. The central government must first also clarify its stance on the legality of Mahadev app, he said.
“If it’s legal, there’s no question of protection money. If it’s illegal then why is it still operational? It’s operational in Chhattisgarh as well as other states. Why is it not being shut? That means (PM) Modi, (Home Minister Amit) Shah and (CM) Vishnu Deo Sai have given them protection,” he said, adding that the CBI was trying to “stop me, malign me, politically murder me, physically and mentally torture me and hence this is happening”.
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“I do not fear getting arrested. They have done it before. Their wish is to arrest me,” he said.
According to investigators – not only from the CBI but also the Enforcement Directorate — alleged kingpins Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal 43 allegedly amassed Rs 5,000 crore through illegal betting on Mahadev app. The case first came to light under the Baghel-led government in the state and had become a political flashpoint between the then ruling Congress party and the BJP, with both parties accusing each other of shielding main suspects. The CBI arrested Chandrakar in October.
On January 1 last year, the ED filed a supplementary prosecution complaint (PC) in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in the state capital Raipur. The PC was filed against five people, including Subham Soni, one of the promoters of Mahadev Online Book, and driver Asim Das.
The CBI filed its FIR in the case in December.