Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday made another jibe at his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel over the Mahadev betting app scam. Addressing a public rally in Rajim, Chhattisgarh, he said, "He [Bhupesh Baghel] done scam in the name of Mahadev, now Lord Mahadev won't leave you. 'Mahadev ek ek paisa Ka hisab lega [Mahadev will take account of every paisa]. Bhupesh Baghel time has come for you to repay ...Congress has failed in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh election and in the second phase you (Congress) will lose as well."
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has been accused of being involved in the Mahadev multi-crore betting app scam. Now, ahead of the second phase of the Chhattisgarh elections, the BJP has alleged that Bagehl was the kingpin of the online fraud.
Right before the first phase, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, targeted Baghel, after the Enforcement Directorate claimed that Baghel was paid Rs 508 crore by the promoters of the Mahadev app. Addressing a poll rally in Durg, PM Modi said: "The Congress government in Chhattisgarh is leaving no chance to loot you. They have not spared even 'Mahadev's' name."
What Is The Mahadev Betting App Case?
The case came to the limelight after several stars from the entertainment world like Vishal Dadlani, Atif Aslam, Tiger Shroff, Sunny Leone, Sonakshi Sinha, Neha Kakkar, Ali Asgar, Pulkit Samrat, Bharti Singh, Elli Avram, Bhagyashree, and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan attended the wedding of the app founder Saurabh Chandrakar's Rs 200-crore lavish wedding in Ras Al-Khaimah, Dubai.
Mahadev Books was a mobile application that facilitated illegal betting in virtual games such as poker, teen patti, and cricket.
To access the app, users would have to acquire a user ID and password, typically held by those already on the application. These user details were sold for thousands of rupees. Once a user received the details, they would be able to place the bets with all the transactions directed through bank accounts or online channels.
The app's functionality is orchestrated by "panel owners", who oversee the operations over multiple groups on messaging platforms. These "panel owners" reportedly manage four to five platforms each, contributing to the company's reported daily profits of approximately Rs 200 crore.
The virtual games hosted on the app's platforms are manipulated to ensure that the "panel owners" incur no financial losses. Despite users initially making profits, with payments processed through anonymous bank accounts, they eventually face significant losses as addiction takes hold.
Latest Developments
Dabur Group chairman Mohit Burman and director Gaurav Burman have also been named as accused in the case, according to news agency ANI. Reacting to the reports, the Burman family issued a statement: “We have not received any communication on any such FIR. If this information is indeed true, it appears to be a mischievous act driven by malicious intent and is devoid of any facts. We categorically deny the allegations and firmly believe that a thorough investigation will vindicate our position and demonstrate the unfounded nature of these allegations. We trust that the legal process will unveil the true nature of this malicious attempt to tarnish our reputation.”