Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Six days after searching former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel’s private and official residences in connection with the Mahadev gambling app case, CBI sources on Tuesday said Baghel has been named in their FIR as an accused.
Baghel was first booked by the Chhattisgarh Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in March last year. The Chhattisgarh Congress party, led by Baghel, targeted the BJP government over the slow progress of the investigation and in August, the case was transferred to the CBI, which registered an FIR. However, the contents of the FIR had not been made public.
In the FIR, along with Baghel, 18 more accused have been named as well as some unknown accused.
The Mahadev app case first came to light under the Baghel-led government in the state and had become a political flashpoint between the then ruling Congress party and the BJP, with both parties accusing each other of shielding main accused Saurabh Chandrakar and his alleged partner Ravi Uppal.
Chandrakar was arrested by the CBI in October.
On January 1 last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a supplementary prosecution complaint (PC) in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in the state capital Raipur. The PC was filed against five people, including Subham Soni, one of the promoters of Mahadev Online Book, and driver Asim Das.
As per the PC, Das told the ED that Soni allegedly tasked him with delivering a substantial amount of cash (Rs 5.39 crore) to Bhupesh Baghel to avoid arrests of those linked with Mahadev app.
Baghel has denied any involvement and termed the ED’s action politically motivated.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
