Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is among 21 people booked in connection with the Mahadev betting app case, EOW officials said on Sunday.

Those booked in the case include Mahadev App promoters Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni Anil Kumar Agrawal, some police officials and bureaucrats of Bhupesh Baghel’s regime.

They were booked after the Enforcement Directorate submitted a probe report.

Some of the accused persons named in the FIR are from Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Kolkata.

The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Chhattisgarh police have registered the FIR on March 4, and all the persons accused have been booked under Sections 120B, 34, 406, 420, 467, 468, and 471 of IPC.

The Congress has fielded Bhupesh Baghel from Rajnandgaon constituency in Chhattisgarh.

In January, Bhupesh Baghel was named in a supplementary charge sheet by the ED regarding allegations of receiving bribes approximately Rs 508 crore from the Mahadev app promoters in the UAE.

The ED had started an investigation into the matter in July, 2022 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

During investigation, it was found that Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who reside abroad, were overseeing illegal betting operations remotely, with proceeds of crimes amounting to several thousand crores.

(This article has been published via a syndicated feed)