FIR filed against former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Mahadev app promoters

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Times Now, Serious charges under IPC including criminal breach of trust and cheating have been leveled against them. Earlier on Wednesday, during an investigation into the Mahadev betting app case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed that several dummy accounts and fake bank entities were being used to invest nearly ₹1,100 crore in the stock market. Till the investigation is completed, the ED will keep these shares frozen.

Earlier on March 8, the Enforcement Directorate had made two fresh arrests in the Mahadev app-linked money laundering case in which various high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh are alleged to have been involved. Girish Talreja and Suraj Chokhani were taken into custody on March 2 and March 3, respectively. A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court sent them to ED custody till March 11, the agency said in a statement.

Previously, the agency stated that funds allegedly obtained unlawfully through the Mahadev app were utilized for paying bribes to politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh, the home state of the primary promoters and operators of the app. To date, the ED has seized or frozen movable properties amounting to ₹1764.5 crore. Additionally, 11 individuals have been arrested in connection with the Mahadev betting app scam case.

Also Read: Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2023: Mahadev app, Corruption, Tribals' ‘hand’ slaps Congress. Know why ED had elarlier claimed that the promoters of the Mahadev app paid around ₹508 crore to former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel. These allegations, made just ahead of the state assembly elections, were refuted by Baghel, who dismissed them as efforts to tarnish his reputation.