Following Case Takeover, CBI Raids Residence of Bhupesh Baghel
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is the focal point of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has stepped up its probe on the Mahadev internet betting fraud.
Previously naming Baghel in a FIR on March 4, 2024, the CBI formally seized over the case from the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on March 25, 2025.
The prosecution centers on the Mahadev betting app, which enabled illegal sports and political betting while channeling an estimated ₹6,000 crore through a complex network of financial activities.
The CBI raided Baghel’s Bhilai house the next day, March 26, 2025, taking vital digital evidence including a laptop reportedly connected to his colleagues with encrypted betting logs seized.
Reported by Hindustan Times, this operation followed a charge document submitted by the EOW in July 2024, linking Baghel alongside Mahadev app promoters Ravi Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar.
The matter has turned decisively with the CBI now spearheading the inquiry, sparking rumors of Baghel’s likely detention.
Findings of the Enforcement Directorate on Bribery Allegations
First drawing national notice was the Mahadev betting fraud when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigated the financial workings of the app.
PTI said on November 3, 2023 that the ED had charged Bhupesh Baghel of getting ₹508 crore in bribes from the Mahadev app developers.
The evidence of a cash courier, who directly handed money to Baghel under a sting operation carried out in Raipur in October 2023, supported this assertion to the ED.
The ED claimed that these payments were paid to guarantee political support for the illicit operations of the app in Chhattisgarh.
According to a December 7, 2024, India Today story, the agency’s investigation on the fraud resulted in the attachment of ₹388 crore in assets Based on a forensic analysis The Hindu reported in January 2025, investigators believe the app laundered money through about 450 bank accounts.
One of the most important betting fraud instances in recent years, this banking network was reportedly utilized to move illegal profits abroad.
Digital Evidence Support Case Against Baghel
Officers found electronic gadgets from Baghel’s house, including a laptop allegedly containing encrypted logs of betting transactions, during the CBI’s March 25, 2025 raid.
An internal briefing sent to ANI claims these logs purportedly follow financial movements between the Mahadev app and Baghel’s close friends.
Should decryption be successful, this evidence could directly prove his complicity in the fraud, therefore bolstering the case of the prosecution.
This most recent news has heightened speculations over Baghel’s approaching arrest. Already closing in on his inner circle, the CBI questioned his adviser Laxmi Narayan Bansal for over ten hours on March 24, 2025.
According to a Times of India article, Bansal gave important new perspectives on the financial trail, which would have Baghel implicated even more.
Based on the growing data, legal experts currently estimate that by April 15, 2025 the CBI would submit a charge sheet against Baghel.
Baghel Calls a “Political Vendetta”
Bhupesh Baghel has angrily denied any misbehavior in spite of growing accusations. He said in a broadcast to India TV on March 26, 2025, the inquiry was a politically driven attack carried out by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), “This is just political revenge.”
Targeting opposition figures the BJP is leveraging central agencies. I am not directly connected to the money, he said.
Long active opponent of the BJP-led central government, Baghel charges it of utilizing agencies like the CBI and ED to silence opposition voices by means of misbehavior.
His supporters contend that the timing of the raids—just months before important state elections—suggests a calculated attempt to undermine the Congress party in Chhattisgarh.
Still, researchers say the case is entirely evidence-driven, citing witness testimony and financial records as significant sources of damaging data.
The Increasing Magnitude of the Mahadev Betting Scam
The Mahadev betting fraud has made public the widespread illicit online gaming presence in India. Mostly running via encrypted networks and offshore accounts, the app enabled betting on big athletic events and even political elections.
According to The Hindu’s January 2025 forensic analysis, the app passed money into foreign-based shell firms by means of a large network of 450 bank accounts, therefore laundering funds.
ED officials claim that the ₹6,000 crore value of the scandal qualifies it as among the worst financial frauds of recent times.
With ₹388 crore as of December 2024, the agency’s asset attachments hardly cover the criminal money produced by the betting site.
Authorities are anticipated to further untangle the financial network connecting Mahadev app promoters to well-known politicians and corporate leaders under the CBI now in control.
Bhupesh Baghel’s next direction?
Pressure on Bhupesh Baghel is growing as the CBI gets more hold on the case. The interrogation of his assistant Laxmi Narayan Bansal and the seizure of digital data have spurred rumors that his arrest is almost certain.
Although legal professionals believe a charge sheet could be submitted by mid-April 2025, it is still to be seen if the CBI would proceed with quick legal action against Baghel.
The defense of the former chief minister depends on the case that he is not connected to the claimed bribes by any direct proof. Still, his legal problems are far from resolved since several authorities investigating the matter and new evidence surfaced.
The result of this well-publicized probe could have major political consequences not only for Baghel but also for the posture of the Congress party generally in Chhattisgarh.
All eyes stay on the CBI’s next action as the probe develops. Whether Baghel will be formally detained or handled to refute these accusations will determine the political scene for the next months.
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