The sessions court has granted bail to businessman Dixit Kothari, questioning his alleged role in connection with the Mahadev online betting app. Kothari was arrested by the Mumbai police on January 5 for allegedly registering 16 betting portals by using his email ID.
The prosecution also alleged that he opened a PAYTM bank account using the Aadhaar and PAN cards of an employee of PAYTM Bank by offering him Rs2,000 per month.
The prosecution claimed that on verification and examination of WhatsApp chats from Kothari’s mobile phone it was found that he contacted various national and international mobile numbers and that there were financial transactions with them.
The defence lawyers claimed that on careful perusal of the chargesheet against Kothari it is revealed that a said app, lotusbook8.com, is owned by one Aman.
They said that as per the chargesheet, it’s also linked to a bank account in Punjab National Bank in the name of one Subhash Ramola. The lawyers said that not an iota of material is brought on record to show any nexus between Kothari and either Aman or Ramola.
They also pointed out the absence of material on record linking the businessman to the bank account. The defence also pleaded that even if it is assumed, for the sake of argument but without admitting it, that Kothari set up lotusbook8.com, no material has been brought on record to show that any person has been cheated through this website.
They said the prosecution was unable to show any monetary benefit to Kothari through the website. The defence argued that the prosecution seized multiple bank accounts and crypto wallets in connection with the alleged crime but none of the said accounts are linked to Kothari.
