14 arrests in 3 states for ‘IPL betting on Mahadev platform’

Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Lal Umed Singh said three of the accused bought the panels for Rs 15-25 lakh from the owners of the Mahadev platform through the other accused.

While six of those arrested are residents of Chhattisgarh, three are from Jharkhand, two from Madhya Pradesh and one each from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab.

Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested one Nikhil Vadhvani, 31, from Raipur on April 13 for allegedly accepting online bets. The others were arrested from Kolkata and Guwahati on the basis of information gathered from Vadhvani.

A total of 67 phones, eight laptops, four routers, 94 ATM cards, 15 SIM cards, 32 bank passbooks, three cheque books, a security camera and three betting record books were seized. A total of Rs 30 lakh was also seized from the accused.

SSP Singh said, “So far, we have frozen 500 bank accounts with transactions worth crores. We have written to banks to freeze a total of 1,500 bank accounts of accused and bettors, with crores of transactions, which include Mahadev app and other gambling apps too.”

The Mahadev betting platform case first came to light under the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in Chhattisgarh and had become a political flashpoint between the Congress and the BJP, with both parties accusing each other of shielding main accused Saurabh Chandrakar and his alleged partner Ravi Uppal.

Last month, the CBI searched Baghel’s private and official residences in connection with the case. Days later, CBI sources said Baghel has been named in their FIR as an accused.