NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has searched 33 locations across six states as part of its probe into the Mahadev online betting app case, recovering digital devices, mobile phones and documents that allegedly point to the use of mule bank accounts and hawala channels.
The searches were conducted over the past few days at premises linked to the platform’s panel operators in Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Amritsar, Bhopal and Raipur, among other locations, officials said on Saturday.
According to the CBI, live betting panels were found operating at several premises. The agency said these were subsequently dismantled.
The searches followed disclosures made by Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the platform’s alleged main promoters, after his extradition from Oman. Chandrakar was arrested by the CBI on November 1. A special court in Raipur had granted the agency eight days of police custody for questioning before he was sent to judicial custody.
His interrogation provided details about the platform’s operations and its network of panel operators in India, CBI spokesperson Beena Yadav said.
The agency said the platform was operated from abroad through a head office, with panel operators managing its activities in India. These operators allegedly handled customer IDs and collected betting money through bank accounts opened or hired in other people’s names. The proceeds were then transferred abroad through hawala channels, the CBI said.
The agency has registered two FIRs in the alleged Rs 6,000-crore betting scam after the Chhattisgarh government transferred the investigations to it.
The investigation is continuing into the roles of other accused, including those based abroad, facilitators and public servants, the CBI said. It added that steps were underway to secure the extradition of other absconding accused.
The Mahadev Online Book platform allegedly facilitated betting on cricket, football, card games and other events through a network of franchised panels and branches across the country.
(With inputs from PTI)