Mahadev Betting App Case: Actor Sahil Khan, 3 Others Skip Mumbai Police Summons

The actor and three others were instructed to appear before the SIT on Friday for questioning.

Actor Sahil Khan

Source : Instagram/@sahilkhan

Three including actor Sahil Khan skipped the Mumbai Crime Branch's Special Investigating Team (SIT) summons to appear for questioning today in the Mahadev betting app case. Police said that till now neither Sahil Khan nor his lawyer have given any response, news agency ANI reported citing Mumbai Police. 

Mahadev betting app case | Three including actor Sahil Khan skip Mumbai Crime Branch's SIT summons to appear for questioning today. Police said that till now neither Sahil Khan nor his lawyer have given any response: Mumbai Police https://t.co/qwMiqARPYD

— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2023

The Mumbai cyber cell's Special Investigating Team (SIT), which is looking into the 15,000 crore Mahadev App online betting case, had summoned actor Sahil Khan and three others. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Dubai Police arrested Ravi Uppal, one of the two main suspects in the Mahadev Book online betting syndicate. Uppal is also said to be a co-promoter of the app.

According to ANI, the arrest was made by Dubai police on the basis of a red corner notice issued by Interpol at the request of the ED. Uppal will be extradited to India in the near future.

The Enforcement Directorate is investigating Uppal for money laundering. He is named as an accused in the case in which outgoing Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is accused of receiving kickbacks.

According to the report, Uppal was arrested by Dubai Police after the Enforcement Directorate issued a Red Corner notice against him.

According to the ANI report, Dubai authorities communicated this to Indian officials shortly after Uppal's arrest and expressed their willingness to deport him because he is wanted in India for his alleged involvement in money laundering worth nearly 6,000 crore.

In October of this year, Red Corner notices were issued against Uppal and Sourabh Chandrakar, the other promoter and mastermind of the illegal betting syndicate who is also in the UAE.

After the Enforcement Directorate applied to a special court in Raipur and obtained a non-bailable warrant against them, a Red Corner notice was issued.

Following Uppal's arrest, it has been learned that Chandrakar may be arrested soon.

The development comes months after the Enforcement Directorate was drawn to a lavish wedding held in the United Arab Emirates in February, where the entire sum of around 200 crore was paid in cash.

According to the ED, Chandrakar hired private jets to ferry family members from Nagpur to the UAE for his wedding in Ras AlKhaimah and paid celebrities from the film industry to perform.

There are allegations of 15,000 crore rupees in fraud, match-fixing, illegal hawala, and cryptocurrency transactions in the Mahadev betting app case.

In connection with the Mahadev online betting app case, the Enforcement Directorate had filed a charge sheet. The charge sheet names 14 people, including Sourabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Vikas Chhapariya, Chandra Bhushan Verma, Satish Chandrakar, Anil Dammani, Sunil Dammani, Vishal Ahuja, Dheeraj Ahuja, Srijan Associates through Punaram Verma, Shiv Kumar Verma, Yashoda Verma, and Pawan Nathani, as per the ANI report. 

The Mahadev Online Book Betting app, according to the Enforcement Directorate, is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs, and launder money through a layered web of Benami bank accounts.