Kolkata, March 26 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday launched raids and search operations in at least five places in and around Kolkata in connection with its ongoing investigation against the Mahadev Book betting app.
At the same time, sources aware of the development said, there are charges of bank loan forgery against one of the kingpins of the betting app who had been operating from Kolkata.
Each team of CBI officials was escorted by central armed police force (CAPF) personnel.
Sources added that the main raid and search operations are being conducted at the residence of a local businessman at Salt Lake in northern Kolkata. Besides the charges of being part of the betting app rackets against the businessman and his son, they also face allegations of purposeful bank loan default and forgery.
Last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials also conducted raids and search operations at the same place in connection with the alleged betting app scam.
Raids and search operations by the CBI sleuths were ongoing at the time the report was filed. However, no arrest in the matter has been reported so far.
Besides checking different documents at the five places in and around Kolkata where the raids and search operations are being conducted, the CBI officials are also interrogating a number of persons in connection with the betting app scam.
As per the CBI, it was conducting searches at 60 locations across Chhattisgarh, Bhopal, Kolkata, and Delhi, "including premises linked to politicians, senior bureaucrats, police officers, key functionaries of Mahadev Book, and other private individuals suspected of involvement in the case".
“The case pertains to the illegal operations of Mahadev Book, an online betting platform promoted by Ravi Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar, both of whom are currently based in Dubai,” the agency said.
Investigations have revealed that the promoters allegedly paid substantial amounts as "protection money" to public servants to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted functioning of their illegal betting network, it said.
Initially registered by the Chhattisgarh's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), the case was subsequently transferred to the CBI by the state government for a comprehensive probe into the role of senior public officials and other accused persons, the agency said.
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