The courier identified as Asim Das has claimed that ED officials coerced him into signing a statement in English.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel (File Photo: ANI)
Days before Chhattisgarh assembly elections, the Enforcement Directorate had claimed that they have arrested a “courier” linked to the Mahadev betting app case and that he reportedly revealed money was given to incumbent Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for election campaign.
However, the courier identified as Asim Das has now come out with a statement and denied delivering money to any politician, countering the central probe agency’s earlier claim.
According to an NDTV report, Das has written a letter to the Director of the ED from jail and alleged that officials had coerced him into signing a statement written in English – a language he doesn’t understand.
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He said that Shubham Soni, the owner of the Mahadev betting app was his childhood friend and wanted to start a construction business in Chhattisgarh and needed his help. He claimed that Soni had arranged money for the construction business.
“On the day I landed at the Raipur airport, I was asked to pick up a car and check into a hotel on VIP Road. I was told to park the car at a specific spot, where a person later put bags of cash in the vehicle and left,” he wrote.
“I was asked over the phone to go back to my hotel room and after some time ED officials came to my room and took me with them. Later, I realized that I am being implicated. I have never supplied money or any other assistance to any political leaders or workers,” Das wrote.
The startling claim had prompted the BJP to target CM Baghel and the issue also featured in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s poll speeches as well.
The Congress and CM Baghel had, however, denied the allegations, terming them a political conspiracy hatched by the BJP to sway election results in their favour.
The Mahadev betting app came under the scanner of the ED after a 200-crore wedding in Dubai in which Bollywood celebrities had also participated. The wedding money was reportedly paid in cash, which caught the probe agency’s attention and a case was registered.
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