Raipur, Nov 2 Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday said his government had written to the Centre in 2023 seeking the issuance of a lookout circular against Sourabh Chandrakar, the alleged kingpin of the Rs 6,000-crore Mahadev online betting app scam, who has been extradited from Oman.
Talking to reporters at Raipur airport, the senior Congress leader, who was CM from 2018 to 2023, said his government had registered 72 FIRs in connection with the alleged online betting scam in 2022 and subsequently written to the Union Home Ministry in 2023 seeking lookout circulars against Chandrakar and another promoter, Ravi Uppal.
“Probe agencies will do what the government wants them to do, but we have complete faith in the judiciary,” Baghel said when asked about the ruling BJP targeting Congress after Chandrakar’s extradition.
Reacting to the BJP’s claims that several people could be exposed following Chandrakar’s arrest, he said, “Yes, absolutely?”
Questioning the investigation into the alleged scam, the former chief minister sought clarity on who was actually running the betting platform, Chandrakar or Shubham Soni, who is also an accused in the case.
“Who obtained the video of Shubham Soni? The ED. And who released it? The BJP office (in 2023). In that video, Shubham Soni claims that he is the owner of the Mahadev betting app and that these people are his employees.
“Now, they (central agencies) say Chandrakar is a promoter, and the same ED is taking action against him on that basis. Shubham Soni says Chandrakar is his employee. The ED and CBI should clarify who the actual owner is — Shubham Soni or Sourabh Chandrakar,” Baghel said.
A CBI team deputed to Oman escorted Chandrakar back to India on Sunday. He was wanted in two CBI cases and one Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, in which chargesheets have already been filed, the central agency said.
Acting on a Red Corner Notice issued against him, the Royal Oman Police located and detained Chandrakar. Subsequently, the CBI and ED submitted formal extradition requests to Oman along with evidence gathered against him, it said.
According to the CBI, investigations revealed that Mahadev Online Book was among the country’s largest illegal online betting syndicates, allegedly operated from outside India through a network of franchised panels and branches.
The platform allegedly facilitated betting on cricket, football, card games and other events, enrolling users and collecting stakes through its network across the country.
The proceeds generated through illegal betting were allegedly routed through numerous mule bank accounts, layered through multiple transactions and transferred abroad through hawala channels. Part of the proceeds was also allegedly used to pay protection money to public servants to ensure the syndicate operated without hindrance, the agency claimed.
The ED has estimated the proceeds of crime in the alleged scam at around Rs 6,000 crore and attached several properties in India and abroad linked to the syndicate.
The agency has been investigating the alleged money laundering linked to the Mahadev app since the scam came to light during the previous Congress government led by Baghel in Chhattisgarh.
After the BJP government came to power in the state in December 2023, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registered an FIR in March 2024 based on an ED report, invoking charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Baghel, app promoters Ravi Uppal, Sourabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal, along with 14 others, were named as accused in the FIR.
In August 2024, the state government transferred 70 cases related to the alleged betting app scam registered at various police stations, along with an EOW case, to the CBI.
Baghel had earlier described the EOW FIR as “politically motivated”.
(PTI News)
