Uppal is likely to be deported to India soon.
[Representational Photo : iStock]
In a major development in the Mahadev betting app case, Dubai police has arrested one of the two promoters of the app, Ravi Uppal. The promoter was detained after a red corner notice was issued against him by the Interpol at the request of the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing a money laundering case against him.
According to reports, Uppal was arrested in Dubai last week. He may be deported to India soon after completion of the extradition formalities.
Sourabh Chandrakar, the other promoter of the betting app, whose Rs 200 crore all cash wedding caught the attention of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), is still absconding and efforts are on to nab him.
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The Mahadev betting app issue had triggered a massive controversy during the recent Chhattisgarh Assembly elections after ED claimed that a cash courier it arrested revealed that over Rs 500 crore was paid to then state chief minister Bhupesh Baghel for the election campaign.
However, when the cash courier, identified as one Asim Das, was produced before the court, he dismissed the probe agency’s claims and said he was tricked into signing a statement in English – a language he did not understand.
Das alleged he was being framed and that he never delivered cash to any politician.
According to the ED, Uppal and Chandrakar, residents of Chhattisgarh’s Bhilai, ran the Mahadev betting app and its several other subsidiaries from Dubai. These apps saw daily transactions worth thousands of crores and the promoters reportedly earned nearly Rs 200 crore per day.
The central probe agency also claimed that several police officers, bureaucrats and politicians were on the payroll of Uppal and Chandrakar to ensure the betting app remained off the radar of probe agencies.
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