The CBI conducted searches across Chhattisgarh, Bhopal, Kolkata, and Delhi including premises linked to politicians, senior bureaucrats, police officers, key functionaries of Mahadev app, and other private individuals suspected of involvement in the case. The case pertains to the illegal operations of Mahadev App, an online betting platform promoted by Ravi Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar, currently based in Dubai.
Investigations have revealed that the promoters allegedly paid substantial amounts as “protection money” to public servants to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted functioning of their illegal betting network.
Initially registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Raipur, the case was transferred to the CBI for a comprehensive probe into the role of senior public officials and other accused persons.
The CBI has seized incriminating digital and documentary evidence.
In a post from Baghel’s X handle, the former chief minister’s office said, “Now CBI has arrived. Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is scheduled to go to Delhi today for the meeting of the ‘Drafting Committee’ constituted for the AICC meeting to be held in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) on 8 and 9 April. Before that, the CBI has reached Raipur and Bhilai Niwas.”
The CBI has taken over the investigation from the Economic Offences Wing of the Chhattisgarh Police, which had earlier named Baghel, promoters of the app, Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni, and Anil Kumar Agrawal, and 14 others in its FIR.
On March 10, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the house of Baghel’s son Chaitanya. The central investigating agency raided 14 places across the state, including Chaitanya’s hideouts in connection with an alleged liquor scam linked to a money laundering case in the state.
The ED said earlier that the Chhattisgarh liquor “scam” resulted in “massive loss” to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate with more than ₹2,100 crore of proceeds of crime.
The ED had arrested former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma in this case in January apart from Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi and some others as part of this investigation.
First Published: Mar 26, 2025 8:53 AM IST
