Actor-model-fitness influencer Sahil Khan, best known for his work in Style and Xcuse Me, was arrested from Chhattisgarh's Jagdalpur by Mumbai Police in?Mahadev betting app case. After he was produced before Shindewadi court, he has been sent to judicial custody until May 1.
To avoid being arrested, Khan was on the run since April 25, the day his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a court. He first ran away from Maharashtra and reached Goa, which was his first pitspot. He then went to Karnataka's Hubballi travelling via road and then reached Hyderabad. He wore different clothes than what he would usually wear and even tried to hide his identity using a scarf.?
The Police, however, were able to track his location and he hurriedly left for Chhattisgarh via Maoist-prone route which his driver was reluctant to take during the night time. He was finally arrested at?Aradhya International Hotel in Jagdalpur.
Khan is said to be linked to the promotion of betting platforms like Lion Book and Lotus 24/7, which are connected to the Mahadev app, on different websites. As per the Police, he has a financial stake in the Lotus Book 24/7 app.? ? ? ?
Actress Tamannaah Bhatia known for her work in films like Baahubali, Lust Stories 2 among others was also summoned by Maharashtra cyber personnel on April 29 in connection to alleged promotion of the viewing of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches on Fairplay app, a subsidiary app of the Mahadev online gaming and betting application. The actress however failed to attend and requested?a new date and time to present herself before the officials and record her statement.
Not only Tamannaah, Sanjay Dutt had also endorsed FairPlay's app. Both of them were called to record their statement as a witness in the case. Sanjay Dutt, citing his busy schedule had previously requested for a later date.
Mahadev betting app case got the spotlight after ED found a big group doing illegal betting on different games through Mahadev Online Book. The platform was taking bets on games like poker, card games, cricket, badminton, tennis, and even on Indian elections. They also had games like Teen Patti, poker, Dragon Tiger, and virtual cricket.Mahadev Online Book was accused of fixing matches, money laundering with cryptocurrency, and rigging games so that the panel owners made profits themselves while players suffered huge losses. Mahadev Online Book didn't just have websites and secret chat groups, they also tried lure people into illegal betting. Mahadev betting app scam is said to be worth more than Rs 6,000 crore.?
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Many Bollywood celebrities including?Ranbir Kapoor, Kapil Sharma, Huma Qureshi, Hina Khan, and Shraddha Kapoor have been summoned by ED ever since the investigation in the case began in 2021. While?Ranbir Kapoor was accused of receiving payments for promotional activities for the app, the other stars were only asked to make statements. It is said that 16 Bollywood stars came under the scanner after they?attended or performed at?Sourabh?Chandrakar's wedding in February and the company's success party in September 2022.
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Sourabh Chandrakar, 28, and Ravi Uppal, 43, are seen as the mastermind behind the operations that made about Rs 6,000 crore from the illegal betting app. They are originally from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh but have been living in Dubai for nearly two years. The government investigation agency filed a charge sheet against both of them for money laundering in a special court in Chhattisgarh's Raipur in October. After this, Interpol issued a red notice on the ED's request. The charge sheet also listed the names of 14 other people involved, including the main leaders.
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