CBI searches ex-CM Bhupesh Baghel’s residences in Chhattisgarh

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday raided 60 locations in four states, including the residences of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as well as the premises of some bureaucrats and senior police officers, as part of its probe in a corruption case linked to the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online betting app scandal.

Sleuths of the federal agency, which is probing a larger conspiracy in the betting case, conducted raids at Baghel’s residences in Bhilai and Raipur in the morning as well as the premises of Congress legislator Devendra Yadav and some IPS officers, officials aware of the matter said.

HT first reported on January 21 that CBI registered a case in the Mahadev case, roughly four months after the Chhattisgarh government asked the agency to probe the larger conspiracy and role of public servants in a case where former CM Baghel was earlier named.

“In the investigation of Mahadev Book online betting scam, CBI today is conducting searches at 60 locations across Chhattisgarh, Bhopal, Kolkata, and Delhi including premises linked to politicians, senior bureaucrats, police officers, key functionaries of Mahadev Book, and other private individuals suspected of involvement in the case,” the agency said in a statement.

Raids were also conducted at the premises of former political adviser to Baghel, Vinod Verma, as well as IPS officers Anand Chhabra, Abhishek Pallava, Prashant Agrawal and Arif Sheikh, and state police service officer Sanjay Dhruv, officials cited above said.

“The case pertains to the illegal operations of Mahadev Book, an online betting platform promoted by Ravi Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar, both of whom are currently based in Dubai. Investigations have revealed that the promoters allegedly paid substantial amounts as protection money to public servants to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted functioning of their illegal betting network,” the CBI statement said.

Baghel has previously defended himself, saying his name was “forcefully” added by the ruling BJP.

“Now CBI has arrived. Former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel is scheduled to go to Delhi today for the meeting of the ‘drafting committee’ constituted for the AICC meeting to be held in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) on April 8 and 9. Before that, CBI has reached Raipur and Bhilai Niwas,” Baghel’s office said in a post in Hindi on X.

The Congress said CBI searches at Baghel’s residences were “politically motivated”.

Baghel was named as an accused along with Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, the fugitive founders of Mahadev whose extraditions are being pursued in the United Arab Emirates, in an FIR filed by the Chhattisgarh Police on March 4, 2024.

In the course of searches on Wednesday, incriminating digital and documentary evidences were found and seized, the agency said, adding that it was conducting “a comprehensive probe into the role of senior public officials and other accused persons”.

Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided Baghel’s residence in a separate probe related to alleged irregularities in the state’s liquor industry during his tenure as the CM.

The Chhattisgarh government recommended a CBI probe in the Mahadev case in August 2024, roughly nine months after the BJP came to power, displacing the Congress. Between August 2024 and January 2025, CBI studied around 77 FIRs filed by Chhattisgarh police, including an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Raipur, naming Baghel as accused.

CBI re-registered this FIR in January, and the raids suggested Baghel was named as an accused in the agency’s case as well, an official said, requesting anonymity.

Officials familiar with CBI probe said the agency will pursue the extradition of Chandrakar and Uppal, the fugitive founders of Mahadev.

According a charge sheet filed in July 2024, the EOW of Chhattisgarh police said the Mahadev service was still operational and its promoters had obtained protection from various police and administrative officials, as well as influential political figures to prevent legal action against their criminal activities related to online betting.

ED, which is conducting a parallel money laundering probe in the matter, has alleged that Chandrakar and Uppal paid bribes to the tune of ₹508 crore to Baghel. The FIR by the state police naming the former CM was, in fact, filed on the reference by ED.

ED has claimed that the Mahadev online betting app syndicate — which started in 2018 and saw Chandrakar and Uppal remotely run illegal betting operations, with the proceeds of crimes running into several thousand crores — allowed people to put illegal bets on live games such as poker, card games, chance games, matches of cricket, badminton, tennis and football, and even allowed access to apps to place bets on elections in India.

ED said in one of its two charge sheets filed so far that the “betting empire” was operating more than 3,200 (betting) panels in different cities, which generate around ₹240 crore per day. The promoters of Mahadev had rented 20 villas in Dubai to accommodate its staff comprising 3,500 people, it added.

It has estimated proceeds of crime in the case worth about ₹6,000 crore, out of which assets worth ₹2,426 crore have been attached, seized or frozen under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Reacting to the developments, Chhattisgarh Congress chief Deepak Baij alleged that the BJP sent CBI after Baghel and Yadav following “failed raids and failed conspiracies”.

“Since this morning, CBI has been camping at the houses of both our leaders. This is nothing but the government’s desperation,” he alleged in a post on X.

The BJP hit back, asking the Congress to cooperate in the probe instead of linking CBI raids on the premises of its leaders with politics.

“During Bhupesh Baghel-led previous Congress government in the state, several major scams happened which are being probed by CBI and ED. In this series of investigation, CBI on Wednesday carried out raids at around 50 locations including those belonging to politicians, IPS officials and other officials. The CBI’s action is part of a continuous process of investigation,” deputy chief minister Arun Sao said.