Mumbai: Mastermind in Mahadev betting app scam held

The accused was apprehended upon his arrival from Dubai on Saturday night at Mumbai Airport

One of the key players associated with the Mahadev betting app was apprehended by the Pratapgarh police of Rajasthan on Saturday at Mumbai International Airport after arriving from Dubai. The Rajasthan police arrested the accused, who had been in Dubai and was a close confidant of the prime accused, Saurabh Chandrakar.

This individual facilitated the opening of current bank accounts in India, luring gullible individuals with promises of government scheme funds using their documents. Police investigations have revealed that the accused managed to open over 1,600 accounts, with transactions totalling over R2,000 crore recorded in just 68 of these accounts. The Rajasthan police have notified the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the development, highlighting that the apprehended individual is a significant player in the Mahdev app betting case.

Rajasthan police formed a special cyber team to investigate this case, initially freezing 90 accounts. Representation pic

According to the Rajasthan police, this case surfaced in May of this year after a nationalised bank reported suspicious transactions occurring across several accounts that were opened in the name of providing funds to the underprivileged. "We have previously apprehended four suspects involved in opening accounts under the pretence of offering government scheme funds, whereas the accounts were actually being utilised for transferring crores of rupees, linked to illegal betting," said SP Amit Kumar of Pratapgarh, Rajasthan, while speaking with midday.

The Rajasthan police also found that various SIM cards were taken for these accounts to ensure that the account holders didn't receive details of heavy transactions. Most of these account holders are vegetable sellers, shopkeepers, and daily wage workers. According to the Rajasthan police, they formed a special cyber team to investigate this case, initially freezing 90 accounts, of which 68 had transactions of more than R2,000 crore. "We are examining other accounts to get a clear estimate to understand how much betting amount was transferred to these accounts," Kumar said.

The Rajasthan police also revealed that the frozen accounts held a balance of approximately 4 crore. Hailing from Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, Mishra had been residing in Mumbai's Lokhandwala area and leading a lavish lifestyle for the past two years, often travelling in business class. Rajasthan police investigations have unveiled his connections with a prominent entrepreneur in Dubai. Mishra, a wanted suspect in the Rajasthan police's fictitious account case, had a Lookout Circular (LoC) issued against him.

He was presented before the holiday court in Mumbai. Subsequently, he was taken to Rajasthan on transit remand, with the court granting police custody until October 21. According to sources within the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mishra was one of the facilitators providing accounts to Chandrakar and his associates. Chandrakar had reportedly hired hundreds of such individuals to offer bank accounts for the transfer of betting amounts, which ran into thousands of crores.

October 21
Day police custody ends of the accused