Sahil Khan arrested in MOB cheating case, remanded in police custody till May 1

The actor was on the run after his pre-arrest anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Bombay high court in April

Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch (CB) on Sunday arrested Bollywood actor-turned-fitness entrepreneur Sahil Khan from Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh in connection with the ₹15,000-crore Mahadev Online Book (MOB) cheating case. The actor, who was on the run after his pre-arrest anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Bombay high court in April, was subsequently brought to the city and produced in court, which remanded him in police custody till Wednesday, said police.

Mumbai, India – April 28, 2024: Actor Sahil Khan at CP office after arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch's SIT in connection with the Mahadev Betting App case, in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

MOB is an illegal online betting and gaming platform which hosts numerous apps for betting on cricket, football, tennis, casino, teen patti (three card game) and other sports. These apps were promoted via social media at least since 2019, said sources.

About two years ago, Khan put up a post on social media claiming he was a partner in the Lotus 365 app – hosted on MOB – and appealed to others to use it for online betting. “Though he removed the post after a first information report was registered against him at the Matunga police station in November 2023, we investigated the matter and found several pieces of evidence wherein he was seen promoting the app,” said a crime branch officer.

On December 13, 2023, the sessions court had rejected Khan’s anticipatory bail plea, noting that the accused had conspired using various platforms like Mahadev, Ready Anna, Fair Play, Laser Book, Tiger Exchange, and Lotus 365. On April 24, after the Bombay high court too rejected his anticipatory bail plea, he allegedly fled from Mumbai in a private vehicle, hiding his identity, said sources. He constantly changed his location while on the run and the police followed his trail across Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh based on clues from technical information, the sources added.

Khan was finally nabbed by personnel from the special investigation team (SIT) from a hotel in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh. He was subsequently brought to Mumbai and placed under arrest.

Advocate Mujahid Ansari, who represented Khan in court, said that while his client was a celebrity, he did not get any money from MOB or its promoters. “The police claimed that 2,000 SIM cards and bank accounts were found. But not a single bank account and number is in Khan’s name. He has cooperated with the SIT and has already submitted his passport,” Ansari told the court.

The police are now investigating alleged illegal transactions between some financial and real estate companies in the state and the promoters of MOB to get more information. The MOB case is also being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and several other Bollywood actors are on its radar.