Chhattisgarh ex-CM Bhupesh Baghel mentioned 4 times in chargesheet

Animesh Singh

New Delhi, January 7

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has been mentioned four times in the supplementary chargesheet filed by the ED in connection with the money laundering case investigation linked to the alleged illegal betting and gaming through the Mahadev online book app, according to details available with The Tribune.

Alleges conspiracy

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• Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel alleged that the ED had mentioned his name in its supplementary chargesheet under a “conspiracy” at the behest of its “political masters”
• The former Chief Minister accused the agency of fraudulently arresting people and pressuring them to give statements against him and his associates

However, he is not an accused in the case. Sources have indicated though that Baghel could be called for questioning in the matter. The supplementary chargesheet was filed by the agency before a special court in Raipur last week in the Mahadev betting app case against five accused — Shubham Soni, Amit Kumar Aggarwal, Rohit Gulati, Bhim Singh and Aseem Das.

ED lawyer Saurabh Pandey while reacting on Baghel’s name being mentioned in the supplementary chargesheet in the Mahadev betting app case, said in Raipur, “Investigations are underway, and all those will be summoned and called against whom evidence will be found.”

Aseem Das, one of the accused, used to work as a courier in India for the promoter of the Mahadev betting app and was arrested from a Raipur hotel in November 2023 just before the assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, after the central agency recovered a sum of Rs 5.39 crore from his hideouts.

Baghel’s name finds mention in the supplementary chargesheet on page numbers 19, 42, 47 and 58.