Political conspiracy: Bhupesh Baghel on ED's Mahadev betting scam chargesheet
Congress leader and the former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, has been named in the second chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Mahadev betting app case. In response, he alleged that the ED was engaging in a "political conspiracy" and pressuring individuals to testify against him and his associates, per Hindustan Times. The central probe agency is currently probing the case related to Rs. 508 crore in bribes distributed by the app's promoters.
Why does this story matter?
In November, the ED arrested two accused in the case and seized huge amounts of cash from their possession. One of the suspects, Asim Das, an alleged courier, admitted to being told by another suspect, Shubham Soni, to transfer the money to Congress politicians, according to the probe agency. The funds were allegedly meant for the recently concluded Chhattisgarh assembly elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leveraged the issue to attack the Congress during its election campaign.
5 accused named in ED's fresh chargesheet
In its latest chargesheet, the ED named five suspects, including Das, police constable Bheem Singh Yadav, and Soni, a top executive connected to the app, among others. The agency arrested Das in November last year and confiscated Rs. 5.39 crore from his car. The ED claimed that he admitted the seized funds were meant for Baghel's election expenses in Chhattisgarh and were delivered through Dubai. The Raipur court is set to review the supplementary charge sheet on Wednesday.
Das retracted denial of delivering cash to Baghel: ED
The ED submitted its second prosecution complaint to a special court in Raipur on Monday (January 1), claiming that Das has withdrawn his previous statement in which he denied delivering cash to Baghel. To this, Baghel said, "Now, the ED is claiming that he has withdrawn his statement where he said he was deceived. Everyone knows under whose pressure all this is happening." Earlier, Das reportedly stated that he was being implicated as he never delivered money to any politician.
Was forced to sign statement without knowing its contents: Das
In a letter, Das added that he was asked to park the car at a specific location where an individual came on a bike, dropped off the cash in the car, and left. "I was asked over the phone to go back to my hotel room, and within some time, ED officials came to my room and took me with them," he alleged. He also said he was forced to sign a statement in English, which he doesn't understand.
Baghel alleges fraudulent arrests and threats by ED
Baghel has accused the ED of wrongfully arresting people, assaulting them, threatening them, and pressuring them to testify against him and his associates. "We have been saying from the beginning that ED has been using assault and threats and pressuring (accused in the case) to frame me and my associates. This has become very clear from the new ED document," he stated. Baghel also pointed out that he initiated the investigation into the betting app scam to expose the gang.
Know about Mahadev online betting app case
The Mahadev online betting app was operated by Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal from Dubai and allegedly provided a platform for illegal betting on live games. The ED found that the company was functioning as a syndicate arranging online platforms for betting websites, and would launder money through a convoluted format while its promoters made crores of rupees in profit. Several movie stars became involved in this money-laundering scam as well.
