The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday conducted searches at the residence of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in connection with the alleged Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev app scam, officials said.
The agency teams swooped down at Baghel's residences in Raipur and Bhilai, as well as the houses of a senior police officer and a close associate of the former CM, they said.
The CBI has taken over the investigation from the Economic Offences Wing of the Chhattisgarh Police, which had earlier named Congress leader Baghel, promoters of the app, Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni, and Anil Kumar Agrawal, and 14 others in its FIR.
Reacting to the action, Baghel's office in a post on X said, "Now CBI has arrived. Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is scheduled to go to Delhi today for the meeting of the "Drafting Committee" constituted for the AICC meeting to be held in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) on April 8 and 9."
"Before that, CBI has reached Raipur and Bhilai residences," it added.
State Congress communication wing head Sushil Anand Shukla slammed the BJP over the action and claimed the ruling party was scared of Baghel.
“Ever since Baghel has become the party in-charge of Punjab, the BJP is scared. First, the Enforcement Directorate was sent to his residence and now, the CBI has been sent. This shows the BJP's fear. When the BJP fails to fight politically, it uses central agencies against its opponents," he alleged.
"Neither Bhupesh Baghel nor the Congress party is scared,” Shukla said.
The people of the country and the state are well aware of these "oppressive" policies of the BJP, he said.
The Enforcement Directorate, which is also probing the case, has alleged that its probe revealed the involvement of several top politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh.
The app was an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs and launder money through a layered web of 'benami' bank accounts, it claimed.
The projected proceeds of crime are about Rs 6,000 crore, the ED earlier said.
Earlier also, the CBI had lodged a case against Baghel in connection with an alleged seven-year-old (sleaze) CD matter, but the court recently discharged him of all charges, Shukla added.
The state government last year handed over to the CBI 70 cases related to the alleged Mahadev scam lodged with different police stations and one case registered with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the state.
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