The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has listed former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel as an accused in the Mahadev Betting App case.

On Tuesday, the CBI released its First Information Report (FIR) related to the Mahadev online betting app case. In all, 21 people have been named as accused in the FIR, including Vikas Chhapriya, Rohit Gaulati, Vishal Ahuja, Dheeraj Ahuja, Anil Kumar Dammani, Sunil Kumar Dammani, Bhim Singh Yadav, Harishankar Tibarwal, Surendra Bagi, Suraj Chokhani, Chandra Vhushan Verma, Assem Das, Satish Chandrakar, Nitish Deewan, Saurabh Chandrakar, Anil Agarwal (Atul Agarwal), Vikas Uppal, Shubham Soni (Pintu), Suraj Chokhani, and two other unidentified individuals, including a police officer.

According to the CBI, the accused is charged with violating Sections 120 (B), 420, 467, and 468 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC); Sections 11, 7, 8, and 4 of the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2002; and Section 4 (A) of the Public Gambling Act. The CBI has carried out searches at more than 60 locations across Chhattisgarh, Bhopal, Kolkata and Delhi. These searches targeted properties linked to politicians, senior bureaucrats, police officers, key members of Mahadev Book, and other private individuals suspected of being involved in the case. Earlier, on March 26, the agency also searched the residence of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for 14 hours and seized three mobile phones. Speaking to the media, Baghel mentioned that the CBI had raided his residence for the second time in 15 days. He stated that the raids were not limited to Durg but were carried out at multiple locations across India.

Baghel pointed out that despite strict action against the Mahadev Betting App, the key accused, Saurabh Chandrakar, had not been arrested, even though a lookout circular had been issued against him. He claimed that the raid was politically motivated and was planned to create content for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech before his visit on March 30. He further said, "15 days ago, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted a thorough raid and questioned what more the CBI could uncover now." He further disclosed that actual documents had been removed from his home by the CBI, and that reproductions had not been provided in spite of his request. Had he responded sooner, he claimed, "submitting the required documents would have been beneficial." On March 27, Baghel accused the central government of not taking any action against the Mahadev betting app.

During a press conference, he claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were supporting the app. He also alleged that the government had warned against taking any action on the app, saying that anyone who did so would face consequences. "Modi and Shah are giving patronage to the Mahadev betting app. The government of India has also made clear that if anyone takes action against the app, they will face action. With this, they have made it clear that they don't want to take action against the betting app," he said, addressing the media.

Baghel further claimed that the cash worth crores of rupees, which was recovered from the vehicle, belonged to a BJP leader. The FIR, filed on March 4, 2024, accuses Mahadev Online Book of running illegal betting services. It also alleges that other websites are linked to the promoters of the Mahadev betting app, specifically naming "Skyexchange," which is said to be operated by Hari Shankar Tibrewal in collaboration with Mahadev Online Book. According to the complaint, the Mahadev platform offers unlawful betting services in a variety of "live games," such as card games, poker, chance games, and sports betting. The app became well-known five years ago during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2019–2020.