New Delhi, The CBI has conducted searches at 33 locations across six states in connection with its investigation into the Mahadev online betting app case, recovering digital devices, mobile phones and documents indicating the use of mule bank accounts and hawala channels, officials said on Saturday.
The agency said it conducted searches based on disclosures from Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the platform's principal promoters, following his extradition from Oman.
The searches, carried out over the past few days, targeted premises in Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Amritsar, Bhopal and Raipur, among others, linked to the betting platform's panel operators, they said.
Deep Dive
What did the CBI recover during searches in the Mahadev betting app case?
How did the Mahadev betting platform allegedly operate in India?
Why did the CBI search 33 locations in the Mahadev betting probe?
The CBI spokesperson said live betting and gambling panels were found operating at several locations and subsequently dismantled.
The betting app promoter, Chandrakar, was extradited from Oman and arrested by the CBI on November 1.
A special court in Raipur had granted the agency eight days of police custody for his interrogation. He was later sent to judicial custody after the CBI completed its initial questioning.
"His interrogation revealed the details about the working of the platform and its network of panel operators in India," the CBI spokesperson said, adding that he was also confronted with documentary and digital evidence collected during the investigation.
"Investigation conducted so far has revealed that the platform is run from abroad through a Head Office and operates in India through a large network of panel operators," CBI Spokesperson Beena Yadav said in a statement.
{{/usCountry}}"Investigation conducted so far has revealed that the platform is run from abroad through a Head Office and operates in India through a large network of panel operators," CBI Spokesperson Beena Yadav said in a statement.
{{/usCountry}}She said these operators handle customer IDs, collect betting money in the bank accounts exclusively opened or hired in the names of other persons, and send the profits abroad through hawala channels.
The CBI has registered two FIRs in the ₹6000-crore betting scam after the investigations were transferred to the central agency by the Chhattisgarh government.
"Investigation is continuing into the role of the other accused, including those located abroad, the persons who facilitated the operations and the public servants concerned. Steps for extradition of the other absconding accused are under way," CBI Spokesperson said in a statement.
According to the CBI, investigations have revealed that Mahadev Online Book was among the country's largest illegal online betting syndicates, allegedly operated from outside India through a network of franchised panels and branches.
The platform allegedly facilitated betting on cricket, football, card games and other events, enrolling users and collecting stakes through its network across the country, said the probe agency.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.