Govt Issues Blocking Orders Against 22 Illegal Betting Apps Including Mahadev Book

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has issued blocking orders against 22 illegal betting apps and websites including Mahadev Book and Reddyannaprestopro.

The action came after investigations conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against an illegal betting app syndicate and subsequent raids on Mahadev Book in Chhattisgarh, revealing the app’s unlawful operations.

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The owners of Mahadev Book are currently in custody, having been arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for commission of the offence of Money laundering under section 3, punishable under section 4 of PMLA, 2002.

Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology said the Chhattisgarh Government had all the power to recommend shutting down of website/app under Sec 69A IT Act. “However, they did not do so and no such request is made by the State Government while they have been investigating it from the last 1.5 years. In fact, the first and only request has been received from ED and it has been acted upon. Nothing prevented the Chhattisgarh Government from making similar requests.”

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BAGHEL’S CONNECTION TO MAHADEV APP SCAM

The Enforcement Directorate alleged that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was a direct beneficiary in the Mahadev app scam.  The agency quoted its probe into accused Asim Das, who was arrested on Thursday, and said, “Mr Asim Das admitted that he was carrying Rs 5 crore to deliver to the ruling political executives of Chhattisgarh. He named ‘Bhupesh Baghel’ CM of Chhattisgarh, as the intended final recipient for the cash seized from his control.”

It also claimed that Das was a “cash courier sent from UAE especially, to deliver large amounts of cash for electioneering expenses of the ruling Congress Party”.

The ED claimed that during questioning, Das said that one of the “top management” people of the Mahadev app, Shubham Soni (alias Pintu) gave him Rs 5.39 crore in cash and asked him to hand this over to the “associates of Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh”.

“He informed that he was specifically called to Dubai recently and then sent back with specific instructions to deliver cash. He had received cash from the associates of Mahadev Book App and he was asked to wait at Hotel Room No 311 of Hotel Triton, awaiting further directions for delivery of this amount to the associates of ‘Baghel’,” the ED said.

The agency claimed that forensic and digital evidence recovered from the phone seized from Asim Das also corroborates the allegations made by him.

Baghel, on the other hand, accused the ED of making a “malicious attempt” to tarnish his image ahead of the assembly polls in the state this month. He further accused PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of taking the help of central investigation agencies after failing to take on the ruling Congress in the state.

PM Modi accused the Congress of using “illegal money” to fund their campaign for the state assembly polls. The PM said that the party hasn’t even spared ‘Mahadev’, which is another name of Lord Shiva.