The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday conducted raids at the residences of Congress General Secretary and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in connection with the Mahadev betting app case.
According to Baghel’s office, officials from the central agency arrived at his homes in Raipur and Bhilai before his planned departure for a meeting at the Congress Headquarters in Delhi.
The Madhya Pradesh government had last year authorised the CBI to investigate 70 cases linked to the Mahadev scam, registered across various police stations in the state.
“Now CBI has come. 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 8 and 9 April. Even before that, CBI has reached Raipur and Bhilai residence,” read a post from his office on X.
Criticising the raids, state Congress communication wing head Sushil Anand Shukla accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of employing central agencies for political motives. He asserted that neither Baghel nor the Congress was intimidated.
“Ever since Bhupesh Baghel has become the party in-charge of Punjab, the BJP is scared. First, the Enforcement Directorate was sent to his residence and now, the CBI has been sent. This shows the BJP’s fear. When the BJP fails to fight politically, it uses central agencies against its opponents,” Shukla claimed, adding that the people of the state and the country recognised what he described as the BJP’s “oppressive” politics.
As part of its investigation into the Mahadev Online Betting app, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has so far seized, attached, and frozen assets amounting to Rs 2,295 crore.
The CBI raids follow a series of ED searches conducted on March 10 at 14 locations in Durg district, including the residences of Bhupesh Baghel and his son Chaitanya Baghel, in connection with an alleged liquor scam.
Baghel later confirmed on X that Rs 33 lakh in cash was discovered at his home during the raids. He explained that the money comprised his earnings from farming, dairy operations, and family savings.
The ED has previously alleged that the liquor scam beneficiaries amassed Rs 2,100 crore in proceeds of crime, causing substantial losses to the state exchequer.
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