THE MINISTRY of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued blocking orders against 22 illegal betting apps and websites, including the Mahadev online betting platform that has been at the centre of a major political storm in poll-bound Chhattisgarh. The order was issued on the recommendations of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), following its investigation into illegal betting app syndicate and subsequent raids on Mahadev Book in Chhattisgarh revealing the app’s unlawful operations, the ministry issued a statement on Sunday night. The ED had earlier alleged that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was paid Rs 508 crore by a cash courier sent from the United Arab Emirates by the promoters of the Mahadev app. So far, the ED has arrested four persons and made seizures worth over Rs 450 crore in proceeds of crime. The agency has also filed a prosecution complaint against 14 accused persons. Reacting to the development, Baghel said the Central government has “finally woken up from its sleep” and banned the Mahadev app. “I have been asking this for months as to why this app was not being banned. I had even said that maybe the greed of getting 28% GST has made the government not ban the app or the BJP and app operators have made a deal,” he said. “I feel amazed that for months the ED had been probing this app but still it was operational. Now that app is banned, its operators in Dubai should be arrested soon. Chhattisgarh Police was the first to issue a look out circular against them (app promoters). Even Chhattisgarh Police wants to question them because the first FIR against them was registered over here,” said the CM. Attacking the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, Minister of State for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the state government had the powers to recommend shutting down of the app but it did not exercise that option. “The Chhattisgarh government had all the power to recommend shutting down the (Mahadev) website and app under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. However, they did not do so and no such request was made by the state government while they have been investigating it for the last 1.5 years. In fact, the first and only request has been received from ED and it has been acted upon. Nothing prevented the Chhattisgarh government from making similar requests,” Chandrasekhar said in a statement. Blocking orders and requests made by various authorities to prohibit access to certain platforms are only known when the Centre makes such information public. As per law, the requests and orders are supposed to remain confidential. According to the ED, Mahadev Book provides online platforms for illegal betting in different live games such as poker and other card games, chance games, cricket, badminton, tennis, football and others; even providing an avenue to bet on different elections in India. The Mahadev app commenced its operations in 2017 and caught the fancy of people in 2020 during the pandemic. Sources in the ED claimed that the app’s main promoters — Sourabh Chandrakar, 28, and Ravi Uppal, 43, who hail from Bhilai — are based out of Dubai and may have amassed as much as Rs 5,000 crore through the platform. The betting app has become a heated political issue in Chhattisgarh, where Assembly elections are scheduled to commence on November 7. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took aim at Baghel and the Congress government in the state, saying “they have not even spared the name of Mahadev”. Reacting to Modi’s comments, Baghel hit back, accusing the BJP of using central agencies against its political opponents.
