 "Bhupesh Baghel, Chief minister of Chhattisgarh")
In a significant development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, in a supplementary chargesheet filed on January 1, 2024.
The chargesheet is related to allegations of receiving bribes amounting to approximately Rs 508 crore from the promoters of the Mahadev App.
As per the ED chargesheet, Mahadev App promoter and accused Subham Soni made startling revelations during the investigation.
The chargesheet includes names of 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 filed before the special court for PMLA cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act at Raipur, Chhattisgarh on January 1, 2024.
According to the ED, Asim Das, in his statement, disclosed that Subham Soni, a prominent figure in Mahadev Online Book, instructed him to deliver a substantial amount of cash to Bhupesh Baghel.
The chargesheet points out that Das was called to Dubai by Soni on October 25, 2023, and was provided with cash to be delivered to Baghel. A voice message recovered from Das's phone further strengthens the claims, where Soni instructs him to deliver 8-10 crore rupees to Baghel upon returning to India.
The supplementary chargesheet reveals 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, as per 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.
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