Raipur, Nov 5 The CBI has said that custodial interrogation of Saurabh Chandrakar, the alleged kingpin of the Rs 6,000-crore Mahadev betting app scam, is needed to identify Chhattisgarh public servants who allegedly received "protection money" to help the syndicate operate.
A special court in Raipur on Wednesday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) eight days of custody of Chandrakar, who was extradited from Oman on November 1, and allowed the agency to take him to Delhi for questioning.
In its remand application submitted before the court, the CBI alleged that Chandrakar, along with other promoters and associates of Mahadev Book, secured the protection of police and administrative officials and influential political persons by regularly paying them huge amounts as "protection money".
Hawala operators were used to arrange and distribute the illegal payments, while police officers and employees were also engaged to channel the protection money to police and administrative officials, the agency claimed.
"The custodial interrogation of the accused is necessary to identify the other masterminds/beneficiaries of the fraud proceeds, to trace the channel through which fraudulently obtained money was collected, layered and routed out of India and to identify the assets created out of such proceeds of crime," it said in the application.
Chandrakar's interrogation was also required to identify public servants in Chhattisgarh who were allegedly receiving or had received illegal pecuniary benefits to allow the accused to run the Mahadev betting app syndicate, the CBI said.
Investigations suggested that Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, along with other associates, promoted the Mahadev Book App and operated online betting through a network of panel and branch operators, it said.
The promoters allegedly retained 70 to 80 per cent of the illegal earnings, while the remaining amount was distributed among panel operators, the agency said.
The CBI claimed that Chandrakar and other promoters had been earning around Rs 450 crore per month through online betting since the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
The accused allegedly arranged for the opening of hundreds of bank accounts using fake documents to facilitate transactions involving the illegal proceeds. These accounts were operated on a commission basis, it said.
The betting proceeds were transferred by panel operators to Chandrakar and other promoters in the UAE through multiple bank accounts, the CBI alleged.
A substantial amount of the illegal earnings was spent on advertising betting websites and organising annual star-studded events, with celebrities allegedly being paid from the proceeds of betting, it claimed.
Police, administrative officials and influential political persons misused their positions to obtain illegal financial benefits in the form of protection money and acquired assets from such proceeds, the agency charged.
Chandrakar and other promoters operated the Mahadev Book syndicate from Dubai, which they referred to as their 'head office'. A large number of youth from Chhattisgarh were allegedly employed as managers, supervisors and other staff to run the illegal online betting operations, it said.
According to the CBI, Chandrakar left India in 2022 to evade the process of law and deliberately remained abroad without joining the investigation.
After being extradited from Oman, he was brought to Raipur on a private flight on Tuesday evening for production before the trial court. Following the Raipur court's order granting his eight days of custody to the CBI, he was taken to Delhi for questioning.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating the alleged money laundering linked to the Mahadev app. The case came to light during the previous Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh.
After the BJP government came to power, the state's 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.
Former CM Baghel, app promoters Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal, along with 14 others, were named as accused in the EOW FIR.
Baghel had termed the FIR against him "politically motivated".
In August 2024, the state government handed over cases related to the alleged betting app scam registered at various police stations, along with one EOW case, to the CBI.
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.
Chandrakar and Uppal are both residents of Bhilai in Chhattisgarh's Durg district.
Uppal has been arrested in the UAE, and India is moving to extradite him, officials said on Wednesday.
