Burmans reject involvement in Mahadev betting app case after Mumbai Police FIR against Dabur chairman, director

The FIR, lodged on November 8, names among 32 others, including Bollywood actor Sahil Khan, "app promoter Saurabh Chandrakar," and key accused Ravi Uppal and Shubham Soni for their involvement in fraud dating back to 2019.

The case, directed by the 30th Kurla court, cites charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 420 (cheating), 120-B (conspiracy), the IT Act (for cyber terrorism), and the Gambling Act.

The accused are alleged to have defrauded people of an approximate sum of Rs 15,000 crore.

The Burman family spokesperson has rubbished the allegations and FIR against the Burman bosses, calling it a 'mischievous act',

Dabur spokesperson was quoted as saying by CNBC TV-18: "We have not received any communication on any such FIR. If this information is indeed true, it appears to be a mischievous act driven by malicious intent and is devoid of any facts.

“We categorically deny the allegations and firmly believe that a thorough investigation will vindicate our position and demonstrate the unfounded nature of these allegations. We trust that the legal process will unveil the true nature of this malicious attempt to tarnish our reputation."

In another statement issued by the Burman Family, they call the FIR false and baseless. "Nothing could be further from the truth than as wrongly stated in the FIR. From a copy of the FIR that is being circulated in the media, we note that allegations are being made that Mr Mohit Burman and Mr Gaurav Burman are directly related to some of the accused.

“There is an unseen Exhibit F which seems to layout some so called relationships. Mr Mohit Burman and Mr Gaurav Burman do not even know or have ever met the accused mentioned in the FIR being circulated selectively in the media."

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently probing the Mahadev Book Online Betting APP syndicate, where the promoters are suspected to be operating from overseas and managing numerous panels across India through associates.

The ED has arrested four people, confiscated illicit gains exceeding Rs 450 Crore, and filed a prosecution complaint against 14 accused.

On November 2, the ED received intelligence that a large amount of cash was being transported in Chhattisgarh by Mahadev APP promoters for the Assembly Elections on November 7 and 17, 2023.

Searches at Hotel Triton and another Bhilai location led to the interception of a cash courier, Asim Das, allegedly dispatched from the UAE to fund election expenses for the ruling Congress Party.

According to the ED, revelations from Asim Das's interrogation, forensic analysis of his phone, and examination of an email from a high-ranking Mahadev network figure suggest that massive payments, totalling approximately Rs 508 crore, have been made to Bhupesh Baghel, the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, in the form of regular payments in the past.