Baghel ‘beneficiary’ of Mahadev betting scam: CBI FIR
Former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel was allegedly one of the beneficiaries of the Mahadev betting scam, according to an ED report, which is now part of the CBI FIR, officials said. The CBI has re-registered the FIR of the Chhattisgarh police as its own case under the IPC sections of 120-B (criminal conspiracy), cheating (420) and Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act. Baghel has been listed in the FIR as accused number 6 of 19 named.
The allegations have been denied by Baghel, who termed the CBI action as politically motivated. The CBI registered the FIR on December 18 last year and conducted searches at the residence of Baghel on March 26. The FIR was made public on Tuesday.
According to the procedure in cases referred to the CBI by a state government, the agency re-registers the FIR of the state police as its own case.
Taking the FIR as the starting point of the investigation, the central agency probes the case and gives its findings to a special court in the form of a final report, which may or may not carry the allegations of the FIR.
The FIR of the Chhattisgarh EOW, referred to the CBI by the state government, was filed on the basis of an Enforcement Directorate report to state police.
The ED report, which became part of the EOW FIR and now the CBI case, alleged that Dubai-based Sourabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal are the main owners of the company Mahadev Online Book which ran an online “betting empire” through massive call centres.
The report also said the promoters and associates of the company have obtained citizenship of Vanuatu in “order to escape the clutches of law”. It alleged Mahadev Online Book and its sister concerns were generating betting proceeds to the tune of Rs 450 crore every month. The ED has alleged that promoters and associates were dealing in cryptocurrencies to hide the money trail from the authorities.
