In a significant development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has included the former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, in a supplementary chargesheet filed on January 1, 2024. The chargesheet pertains to allegations of receiving bribes totaling approximately Rs 508 crore from the promoters of the Mahadev App.
According to the ED chargesheet, Subham Soni, the promoter of Mahadev App and an accused, made startling revelations during the investigation. The chargesheet also lists several other accused individuals, including Subham Soni, Anil Kumar Agrawal alias Atul Agrawal, Rohit Gulati, Bhim Singh Yadav, and Asim Das.
The supplementary chargesheet was submitted before the special court for PMLA cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act at Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on January 1, 2024.
As per the ED, in his statement, Asim Das disclosed that Subham Soni, a prominent figure in Mahadev Online Book, instructed him to deliver a significant amount of cash to Bhupesh Baghel. Das was called to Dubai by Soni on October 25, 2023, and was provided with cash to be delivered to Baghel, as mentioned in the chargesheet. A voice message recovered from Das’s phone further corroborates the claims, where Soni instructs him to deliver 8-10 crore rupees to Baghel upon returning to India.
The supplementary chargesheet discloses that on November 2, 2023, the ED intercepted Asim Das and seized cash amounting to Rs 5.39 crore from his premises. This cash was allegedly being moved by Mahadev App promoters to a select politician in Chhattisgarh, according to ED statements. Das admitted that he was tasked by Subham Soni to deliver the cash to Bhupesh Baghel.
Subham Soni’s email correspondence and statements from other witnesses, including Chandrabhushan Verma, indicate that Bhim Singh Yadav acted as a conduit for Mahadev Online Book in the payment of “liaisoning money.” Bhim Singh Yadav’s involvement in the delivery of the “liaisoning money” was previously disclosed by Chandrabhushan Verma in his statement recorded under section 50 of PMLA, 2002.
