Widening the scope of their investigation in connection with ongoing money laundering probe against the promoters of Mahadev Online Betting App, multiple teams of Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday mounted search operations at over half dozen locations in Durg and Rajnandgaon districts of Chhattisgarh. The ED swoop comes at a time, when Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force in poll-bound Chhattisgarh going to polls in two phases, November 7 and 17 respectively. The post-dawn swoop, which commenced at around 6am, enveloped plush residential bungalows and business premises of some businessmen, based in these two districts and closely linked with the illicit App promoters. Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal - both aged 28 and 43 respectively - hailing from Bhilai, are the main promoters of Mahadev Online Book, who have made a mind-boggling Rs 5000 crore while illegally running their operations from Dubai. “The searches are under way at the residential premises of some key businessmen in Bhilai, fanned across steel city's Nehru Nagar (East), Bhilai-3, Padum Nagar, Baba Deep Singh Nagar, Vaishali Nagar, Sundar Nagar, Risali and Pulgaon localities,” knowledgeable sources privy to ongoing investigation told The Hitavada.

 

Sources affirmed that the federal agency carried out the searches based on credible inputs they laid their hands on during the course of the ongoing investigation and the swoop has yielded rich dividends. “Those brought under the ambit of searches include civil contractor Saurabh Jaiswal at Ward-19, Rahul Nagar in Rajnandgaon; Deepak Sawlani and Girish Sawlani at Nehru Nagar (East), identified as owners of M/s Ram Traders at Akash Ganga, Supela in Bhilai; Vikash Batra at Baba Deep Singh Nagar and identified as proprietor of M/s Satyam Jeans and Dulhe Saheb; Bharat Ramani at Vaishali Nagar and also Director of M/s Bharat Medical Store; Suresh Kukreja at Sundar Nagar and identified as food grain trader and Suresh Ghingnani at Padum Nagar and identified as Proprietor of Ghingnani Fireworks,” the sources added. Sources revealed that Deepak Sawlani is alleged to be a business partner of Saurabh Chandrakar, one among the two main promoters of Mahadev Online Book.

 

Deepak partnered with Saurabh in the juice factory business and also invested with him in opening an eatery business at ‘Chaupati’ in Nehru Nagar. “Most importantly, Deepak too had gone to Dubai for a period of one year after Saurabh moved there and had recently returned to Bhilai. Deepak is alleged to have invested black money of Saurabh into the local business partnered by them. Both Deepak and Saurabh are closely bonded in business and at personal level,” they averred. Sources further revealed that Deepak Sawlani is also a petty contractor for the local municipal body and has supplied chairs and swings for the local gardens under contracts awarded to him. His brother Girish Sawlani owns an electronic shop at Akash Ganga Complex in Supela, and it has also been covered under the search ops. Amid the wait for an official communiqué from the ED, there are unconfirmed reports that the ED sleuths during the searches have found incriminating evidence of ‘black’ money trail stemming from the illegal gambling app and being funneled into mainstream as ‘white’. However, the agency officials remained elusive and evasive regarding the seizure of cash and valuables during the searches, which were likely to last for another day or two. The infamous Mahadev Gambling App came to light after the central agency had carried out massive search operations this year on August 22 and 23 at several places, including the premises of Vinod Verma, political advisor to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and two of his Officers on Special duty (OSDs) in connection with the money laundering investigation into ‘Mahadev Online Book’, an alleged illegal betting app. Later on August 28, the agency had also summoned Verma and OSD Banchore and recorded their statements under Section 50 of PMLA.

 

Moreover, the agency in September had 6 also summoned close family members of Vinod Verma, including his two sons Punarvasu and Tathagat, for recording their statements. Moreover, the ED last month seized assets worth Rs 417 cr in connection with the Mahadev app during the massive search operations at multiple locations in Mumbai, Bhopal, and Kolkata respectively. In its crackdown further, the ED in August month arrested four accused, including two businessmen brothers namely Sunil Dammani and Anil Dammani, an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) of Chhattisgarh Police Chandra Bhushan Verma and one other identified as Satish Chandrakar. The four arrested were part of the larger racket to assist the movement of illegal money through the Hawala network, or were indulged in shielding the racket against police crackdown. ASI Verma, played a key role in creating a protective shield around the accused, for which he raised a ‘protection fund’ of Rs 65 crore. Between period 2022 and 2023, a sum of over Rs 55 lakh and Rs 75 lakh per month, was being paid to senior most cops of Chhattisgarh Police, including both Indian Police Service (IPS) and State Police Service (SPS) cadres, posted in Raipur, Durg and intelligence wings of State Police.

 

ASI Verma played the role of ‘link-bridge’ between the Dubai-based promoters and those in power coterie of Chhattisgarh Government and resultantly, the operations ran smoothly until ED’s massive swoop came in. Shockingly, the ED’s in-depth probe has found money trail between the Bollywood celebrities and the online gambling app promoters, which is infamously known as ‘Mahadev Satta App’ across pan-Chhattisgarh. These celebrities promoted the betting app on social media and in-turn received remunerations for his endorsement and engagement with its allied promotional activities. In this regard, the agency has already served summons to Bollywood Ranbir Kapoor, actresses Huma Qureshi, Hina Khan and stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma under Section 50 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and asked them to record their statements with the agency in Raipur.