After CBI’s reported departure from Raipur, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has come down heavily on the agency and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government.
In a series of posts on X, he said: “It has come to my attention that the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) visited my ‘government residence’ in Raipur. I was neither informed about this visit nor was I notified by the officers who arrived at my Bhilai residence. Entering my official residence without my knowledge or consent is a blatant overreach. Is the BJP orchestrating a conspiracy through the CBI?”
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The former chief minister further said on his post, “the CBI claims their visit was linked to the Mahadev Satta App. Interestingly, this app was virtually unknown across the country until our Congress government took decisive action against it during my tenure as Chief Minister”.
He also told reporters that the CBI took away three of his mobile phones.
“We registered 74 FIRs, made over 200 arrests, and froze more than 2,000 bank accounts. It was under our government that the app was removed from the Play Store after we formally requested Google to take action. If we were the ones to crack down on this app, how can we now be accused of shielding it? The ED even spread false reports claiming that Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal were arrested in Dubai, only for it to emerge that they were actually involved in organising Shiv Katha events. What kind of investigation is this?” Baghel said.
Earlier, he said: “The CBI has now left my residence. Coincidentally, the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Chhattisgarh on the 30th. It seems these raids are being conducted to provide ‘content’ for his upcoming speech.
“On Wednesday, the CBI raided my residences in Raipur and Bhilai, as well as the homes of senior police officers and a close associate of mine, in connection with the alleged Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev App scam.”
The Congress has already stated that these raids are politically motivated and “we will not be intimidated by such tactics”.
Sources reveal that the CBI also searched the premises of Congress MLA Devendra Yadav and IPS officers in Bhilai, Durg district. The raid lasted over 12 hours, and it is being claimed that several key documents were seized.
Last year, the state government handed over 70 cases related to the Mahadev App scam, including one registered by the Economic Offences Investigation Branch (EOW), to the CBI.
The CBI in a statement on Wednesday said it had recovered digital and documentary evidences in the case in raids conducted at 60 places in Bhopal, Raipur, Kolkata and Delhi including premises linked to politicians, senior bureaucrats, police officers, key functionaries of Mahadev Book, and other private individuals suspected of involvement in the case.
The case pertains to the illegal operations of Mahadev Book, an online betting platform promoted by Ravi Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar, both of whom are currently based in Dubai.
Initially registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Raipur, the case was subsequently transferred to the CBI by the government of Chhattisgarh for a comprehensive probe into the role of senior public officials and other accused persons, the ace investigation agency said.
Investigations have revealed that the promoters allegedly paid substantial amounts as “protection money” to public servants to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted functioning of their illegal betting network.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also investigating the case, has alleged that several top political leaders and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh are involved. The ED estimates that the proceeds of crime in this case amount to approximately Rs 6,000 crore.
