The country’s top industrialist and household name in FMCG products, Dabur, has been implicated in the multi-crore online Mahadev betting case. The Mumbai Police has registered a case against 32 individuals, including Gaurav Burman, the Director of Dabur, and Mohit Burman, the company chairman, in connection with the Mahadev betting app, citing various sections related to fraud and gambling. Gaurav Burman is the controlling shareholder of Dabur India.
According to the FIR, Mohit Burman is listed at number 16, while Gaurav Burman is at number 18 as accused in the case registered at Matunga Police Station.
There is an FIR against 31 named individuals, with an unknown person mentioned at number 32. The FIR was filed on November 7 based on a complaint by social activist Prakash Bankar.
Actor Sahil Khan’s name appears as accused number 26 in the FIR. Sahil Khan is accused of running another betting app related to Mahadev’s online betting app. The FIR states, “Sahil is not only accused of promotion but also of earning substantial profits by operating the app.”
Sahil Khan was seen in a video from a party of an online betting app in Dubai. This case has been registered for running a betting app named “Khiladi”.
Despite media reports, a spokesperson for the Burman family has dismissed the accusations as “baseless,” noting that they coincided with their bid to acquire Religare Enterprises.
“We have not received any formal communication regarding any such FIR. However, we have seen the FIR being circulated to media houses. The FIR is patently false and baseless. Nothing could be further from the truth than what is wrongly stated in the FIR,” the Dabur spokesperson stated.
The spokesperson also asserted that the FIR was a “step provoked by vested interests in an attempt to block the acquisition of Religare Enterprises Limited by the Burman family.”
According to the information, social worker Bankar has claimed that people have been defrauded to the tune of `15,000 crore. The police have registered a case under sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, and 120 (B) of the IPC.
In the FIR, the complaint also mentions that the accused, Saurabh Chandrakar, is associated with several influential personalities and senior political leaders affiliated with the Congress. The FIR mentions that one of the accused, Saurabh Chandrakar, actively participated in match-fixing to earn profits through unofficial means, and the role of the Burmans will be investigated.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is investigating the Mahadev Book Online Betting APP syndicate in which the promoters of this betting syndicate are allegedly sitting abroad and remotely running thousands of panels across India with the help of their friends and associates.
According to the ED, it has already arrested four accused persons and seized proceeds of crime worth more than `450 crore. A prosecution complaint has been filed against 14 accused persons.
On November 2, the ED received intelligence input that a large amount of cash is being moved in Chhattisgarh by the promoters of the Mahadev APP in relation to the Assembly Elections scheduled for November 7 and 17.
ED conducted searches at Hotel Triton and another location in Bhilai and intercepted a cash courier, Asim Das, who was sent from the UAE specifically to deliver a large amount of cash for the electioneering expenses of the Congress.
The ED claims that from the questioning of Asim Das, and from the forensic examination of the phone recovered from him, and examination of an email sent by one of the high-ranking accused of the Mahadev network, many startling allegations have come forth. Namely, regular payments have allegedly been made in the past, and so far, around `508 crore have been paid by Mahadev App promoters to Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.
At an election rally on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Baghel Government over the scam.
