Raipur/Delhi: The ED charge sheet in the Mahadev Betting App case, filed on January 1, stated that one of the accused Assem Das had reneged on his earlier statement at 'somebody's behest.'
It added that an anonymous person handed him a typed document and asked him to produce it in his own handwriting. Das signed on the dotted lines in a hope that it would be beneficial for him.
Das was arrested from a hotel in Raipur last November, just before the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly elections.
It claimed that Das "admitted that the seized funds (Rs 5.39 crore in cash) were arranged by Mahadev app promoters to be delivered to a politician named 'Baghel' for election expenses in Chhattisgarh. Incidentally, it is anybody's guess that he was referring to the then CM Bhupesh baghel who had vehemently denied all allegations.
Das, had told ED that Mahadev App promoter Shubham Soni had called him over to Dubai in October 2023 and said that he would be given cash which was to be given to Bhupesh Baghel.
The charge sheet stretching to 1700 to 1800 pages was submitted in a special court of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Raipur on January 1. According to ED, Das's first statement given to the agency on November 3 last year was "true and correct". The statement did implicate former CM Bhuoesh Baghel.
Das' statement on December 12 last year categorically stated that he was falsely implicated in the case. He added that he never ever handed over any cash to anybody. However, contradictions rose as Das himself in his November 3 admission had said that he was given Rs 508 crore which was supposed to be transferred to Baghel.
In the new charge sheet, the probe agency has named five accused in the chargesheet - Aseem Das, police constable Bhim Singh Yadav and Mahadev App operator Subham Soni, accounts department employee Rohit Gulati and Anil Kumar Agarwal alias Atul Agarwal.
The next hearing of the case is slated for January 10. ED also said in the charge sheet that it has seized a flat and a plot worth Rs 99.46 crore located in Dubai under the provisions of PMLA. These properties belong to the accused in the case, Vikas Chhaparia and Aggarwal.
In the new chargesheet, the ED also recorded the statement of Mahadev App executive Nitish Diwan, who apprised the agency that the app and its subsidiary 'Reddy Anna Book' operate 3,200 panels, incurring a daily income of Rs 40 crore. The promoters had also rented 20 villas in Dubai for their employees which number around 3,500 people.
Diwan told ED, “The expenses on food, accommodation, medicine, travel and visa were all borne by the promoters."
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