Mahadev Book: Centre blocks Mahadev Book app, says Chhattisgarh govt had all power to shut it but it didn’t

RAIPUR: The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has issued blocking orders against illegal Mahadev Book online betting app following the investigations by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in subsequent raids, stating that the Chhattisgarh government had all the power to recommend shutting down website/app under Section 69A of IT Act and they didn’t do so.
In an ED investigation, it revealed that Mahadev Book is operated by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal who hail from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, and are the main promoters of the app, running their operations from Dubai. Several links were allegedly found to be connected to policemen, politicians, officers in state and probe was underway.
A statement issued by MeitY on Sunday late said that it has issued orders to block 22 illegal betting apps and websites, including the Mahadev Book app and Reddyannaprestopro.
“The action follows investigations conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against illegal betting app syndicate and subsequent raids on Mahadev Book in Chhattisgarh, revealing the app’s unlawful operations,” the release said.
Union minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship, and electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “Chhattisgarh Government had all the power to recommend shutting down of website/app under Section 69A IT Act. However, they did not do so and no such request is made by the state government while they have been investigating it for last 1.5 years. In fact, the first and only request has been received from ED and it has been acted upon. Nothing prevented the Chhattisgarh government from making similar requests.”

However, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in his interaction with reporters in Raipur had said on many occasions that the Centre should investigate and raid offices of Mahadev Book case located in big cities and put a ban on the operations of such apps in stead of promoting them.
The MeitY further added that accused Bhim Singh Yadav, working as a constable in Chhattisgarh police force and one Asim Das are currently in custody, having been arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for commission of the offence of Money laundering under section 3, punishable under section 4 of PMLA, 2002.

How the Rs 5,000cr Mahadev app racket works
Mahadev App, and similar apps like Reddy Anna & Ambani Book are online satta platforms and an estimated transaction worth Rs 5,000 cr have taken place in the past year via Mahadev app. The ring leaders are in Dubai, where betting is legal, and the network has around 30 centres in India.
The leaders contact local people interested in running the online satta; ‘contracts’ are given for payment of Rs 10-20 lakh for operating one book. 10-20% dividend is offered for running each book.
The parties then set up online gaming platforms using laptops, mobile phones and bank accounts and employ 3-4 people to run the 24×7 operation. The ‘head office; of satta platforms settles the account for each branch every Monday.

The racket is controlled from Dubai, from where OTPs are sent via WhatsApp and web for operating the system. Ads are issued on social media and the betting money is collected through QR code & UPI.
The ring leaders fraudulently obtain bank details of account holders and use them for routing money. Many of those arrested had allowed their bank accounts to be willingly or unwittingly used for the racket.
Mahadev app uses fake bank accounts and cons people to extract their Aadhaar details. In Dec 2022, ED had asked Durg police to provide details of the case for investigation under PMLA.

Watch Explained: What is Mahadev Online Betting App case? | why was Ranbir Kapoor summoned by ED?