Mumbai: Major Breakthrough: ED Detains Director Of Mahadev Book Betting App From Mumbai Airport

Mumbai, 17th October 2023: In a captivating development related to one of the nation’s most controversial cases recently, the Enforcement Directorate achieved a major breakthrough by capturing Mrigank Mishra, the director of the Mahadev book betting app, at Mumbai airport on Sunday. Insider sources at the ED suggest that Mishra was overseeing the app’s financial operations from Dubai.

Prior to this, the ED had issued a lookout circular for his arrest. Acting on this alert, the ED successfully apprehended the suspect in a specialised operation at Mumbai airport. Following his apprehension, he was handed over to the Rajasthan police. Mishra, a key figure in the Mahadev book betting app case, stands accused of orchestrating a massive financial operation involving 90 fake bank accounts through which transactions totaling an astounding Rs 2,000 crore were conducted.

Mishra originally hails from Ratlan in Madhya Pradesh. For the past few years, he has been residing in Dubai and running the financial operations of the app with the help of other accused from there. This year, a case was registered against him for opening bank accounts in a fake name and defrauding the people of crores of rupees in Rajasthan’s Pratapgad police station, prompting Rajasthan police to issue a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him in this matter.

On Sunday, acting on the information of Mishra’s arrival at Mumbai airport, the ED laid a trap and arrested him from the airport. Subsequently, he was handed over to the Rajasthan police. The judicial magistrate sentenced him to police custody until October 21, after which he will shift to judicial custody.

ED swooped 39 locations in Kolkata, Bhopal, and Mumbai in connection with M/s Mahadev’s online book betting app. In this case, assets worth around Rs. 417 crore were frozen or confiscated. More than 12 Bollywood actors, including Ranbir Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, and Shraddha Kapoor, have been summoned by ED for advertising the app on social media.

Mishra played a role in the financial operations of the app. In a prior operation, the Rajasthan police apprehended four suspects and confiscated over 20 debit and credit cards in their possession. Authorities believe that these bank accounts were used for transactions related to the betting app.