Actor Sahil Khan Detained In Connection With Mahadev Betting App Case After Being Questioned By SIT

Mumbai Police cyber cell SIT probing alleged illegal transactions between certain firms in Chhattisgarh and the promoters of controversial Mahadev betting app. Size of scam estimated at Rs 15,000 cr.

Actor Sahil Khan leaves the Mumbai Police Headquarters after being questioned in the Mahadev App case. ( Image Source :PTI )

Actor Sahil Khan has been detained by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Mumbai cyber cell in connection with the Mahadev betting app case. Khan was apprehended from Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh on Saturday, after the Bombay High Court rejected his pre-arrest bail plea, an official told news agency PTI.

STORY | Mahadev betting app case: Mumbai SIT detains actor Sahil Khan from Chhattisgarh

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— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 28, 2024

The actor was recently questioned by the SIT in connection with the case, according to the report. The case was first registered by the Matunga Police, after which it was transferred to the cyber cell and an SIT was formed to take the investigation forward.

The SIT has been conducting a probe into alleged illegal transactions between certain financial and real estate firms in Chhattisgarh and the promoters of the controversial Mahadev betting app. The size of the scam is estimated at about Rs 15,000 crore, according to the first information report (FIR) registered by the police in the case.

An investigation is underway against 32 individuals, including Khan. It involves examining bank accounts, mobile phones, laptops and other technical equipment, the police told PTI. The FIR carries several names such as Dawood Ibrahim's brother Mustaqeem.

So far, one person has been arrested in the case and further investigation is underway, the aforementioned official said.

According to the Matunga police, the FIR was registered on November 8 against "app promoter Saurabh Chandrakar", and key accused Ravi Uppal and Shubham Soni, among others, for allegedly committing fraud since 2019. The case was registered on the direction of a Kurla court under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (conspiracy), with the IT Act and the Gambling Act invoked as well, the official said. 

Meanwhile, Khan's lawyer Mujahid Ansari while speaking to ANI said, "They wanted a remand to investigate. They had produced their ground in the Session Court and the High Court that there are 2000 SIM cards and 1700 bank accounts... The court has sent him (Sahil Khan) to a two-day- police custody. He will be produced again on May 1... No SIM card or bank account is in Sahil Khan's name. We have cooperated and submitted the bank statement... He has been framed in the matter that he had been instigating and promoting the app..."

#WATCH | Mahadev Betting App case | Mumbai: Actor Sahil Khan's lawyer Mujahid Ansari says, "They wanted a remand to investigate. They had produced their ground in the Session Court and the High Court that there are 2000 SIM cards and 1700 bank accounts... The court has sent him… pic.twitter.com/rsJNeZ5VMo

— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2024