Mumbai: In the probe into a betting scam through Mahadev app, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said that the interrogation of the accused Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Chandrabhusan Verma from Chhattisgarh has revealed that his role was to ensure safety and protection of the app promoters from the police and politicians.
The absconding accused Ravi Uppal was allegedly responsible for bribe payouts to politicians and police officials. The agency said that Uppal planned the entire revenue platform, including the financial trail.
Verma's confession
During interrogation, Verma confessed to being the liaison between the absconding owners and managed their lookout notice operations in Chhattisgarh. As per his statement, he paid ₹55 lakh per month to additional special police officers from Raipur and Durg districts. He confessed to paying ₹75 lakh per month to a few senior IPS officers posted in the districts and the intelligence wings of Chhattisgarh in 2022-2023.
He admitted that the bribe payments were enhanced after police action in May 2022. In his statement, Verma specifically named a high ranking official connected to the Chief Minister’s Office; he allegedly received hefty kickbacks on a monthly basis.
ED also questioned people close to CM Baghel
The ED also questioned people close to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, including his political advisor Vinod Verma and officers on special duty (OSD), Manish Banchhor and Ashish Verma in connection to the investigation. Vinod Verma allegedly received hefty payment as political support.
Verma said that hawala payments were handled through other arrested hawala operatives Anil and Sunil Dammani. He also named hawala operators based in Nagpur – Raja Gupta and Kapil Chelani, who are in Dubai.
