Raipur/Bhilai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday conducted searches at the residences of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in connection with the alleged ₹6,000 crore Mahadev betting app case, officials confirmed. Raids were carried out at Baghel’s homes in Raipur and Bhilai, as well as the properties of a senior police officer and a close associate of the Congress leader.
The CBI has taken over the case from the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Chhattisgarh Police, which had previously named Bhupesh Baghel, app promoters Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni, Anil Kumar Agrawal, and 14 others in its FIR. Baghel has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.
Baghel’s office released a statement on social media, revealing that the CBI’s arrival coincided with his scheduled visit to Delhi for a Congress meeting ahead of the AICC session in Ahmedabad. “The CBI has come. Former CM Bhupesh Baghel was scheduled to go to Delhi today for the AICC meeting. Before this, the CBI reached his residences in Raipur and Bhilai,” read the post on X.
ED’s Parallel Investigation
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also been investigating the Mahadev betting app case, alleging the involvement of top politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh. The ED claims that the app operated as a syndicate for illegal betting, generating billions through ‘benami’ accounts and a complex money laundering network.
This raid comes days after ED’s separate raids at 14 locations in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district, including properties linked to Baghel’s son, Chaitanya Baghel, and his close associate, Laxmi Narayan Bansal (Pappu Bansal). The ₹2,161 crore liquor scam, another case under investigation, allegedly involved fraudulent schemes siphoning funds from the state’s exchequer, with Chaitanya Baghel reportedly benefiting from the proceeds.
