Government officials took ‘protection money’, need to identify: Why CBI sought custody of Mahadev app’s Chandrakar

While seeking custody of Saurabh Chandrakar, the alleged kingpin of Mahadev betting app case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told court that they need to identify the public servants who took protection money from him and others to allow the operation of the betting app in Chhattisgarh.

The agency told the special CBI court in Raipur that hawala route was used by Chandrakar and the other accused to pay “protection money” to government officials, including police, and politicians in Chhattisgarh.

Chandrakar was produced amid heavy security before the court where arguments went on for a couple of hours on Wednesday.

While seeking his 10-day remand, the CBI counsel alleged that Chandrakar along with co-accused Ravi Uppal, Shubham Soni and others have been making Rs 450 crore per month through the app since 2020. While around 70 to 80% of the money is kept by them, the remaining is given to the panel operators, the counsel added.

The panel operators were provided several bank accounts fraudulently opened by using genuine documents, the counsel said. These bank accounts were used to collect the betting app money and send it across to the promoters, including Chandrakar who was based in the UAE, according to the allegations. Chandrakar also played a role in taking a large number of youngsters from Chhattisgarh to Dubai where they helped him in the syndicate, the counsel said.

Saurabh Chandrakar kingpin in Mahadev Book App case extradited to India (Special Arrangement Photo)

The central agency’s counsel, during arguments, alleged that Chandrakar and others paid “protection money” to prevent legal action against their panel operators in Chhattisgarh.

A panel can be described as an online shop for an illegal gambling app.

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This protection money was sent through hawala channels to police officers, who further distributed it to other personnel, government officers, and politicians. Several such officials and politicians have used the money to buy properties. The CBI counsel said they need to identify the public servants from Chhattisgarh who took protection money to allow the syndicate to operate in the state.

After the arguments were over, Chandrakar was remanded to CBI’s custody for eight days. The CBI then took Chandrakar back to Delhi.

Chandrakar’s lawyer Tushar Giri told The Indian Express, “We raised a legal objection under extradition law, which bars prosecution for offences other than those for which a person was extradited. Chandrakar was extradited in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, not the CBI case. Aware of this doctrine of specialty, the CBI had filed a separate extradition application, but no extradition order was issued. We will raise this objection at the appropriate time.”

Responding to the allegations, Giri said, “Betting apps are legal in several parts of the world, though not in India. Until recently, several large corporate entities, whose promoters did not come from ordinary backgrounds like Chandrakar, had become so influential that even the Indian cricket team wore their logos. Perhaps Chandrakar is being targeted because he comes from a small place like Chhattisgarh.”

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An FIR has been registered in the case for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and corruption under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2022, and Public Gambling (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Act, 1976.