By Robert 
In a major crackdown on illegal online betting, Chhattisgarh police have arrested 14 individuals from across six states for allegedly placing bets on IPL matches through betting panels linked to the Mahadev app. The arrests follow an ongoing investigation into a widespread betting network already under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
According to Amresh Mishra, Inspector General of Police (Raipur Range), the arrested individuals include six from Chhattisgarh, three from Jharkhand, two from Madhya Pradesh, and one each from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. Eight of them were nabbed in Kolkata, while the remaining six were apprehended in Guwahati.
The operation stems from the interrogation of Nikhil Wadhwani, arrested on April 13 for allegedly accepting online bets on IPL matches. His statements led police to conduct further raids, resulting in the arrests.
Authorities revealed that the accused were operating through Mahadev-linked betting panels named L95 Lotus, Lotus 651, and LOTUS 656. Access to these panels was reportedly purchased for amounts ranging from ₹15 lakh to ₹25 lakh.
During the raids, police seized a significant cache of evidence including:
- 67 mobile phones
- 8 laptops
- 4 routers
- 94 ATM cards
- 15 SIM cards
- 32 bank passbooks
- 3 cheque books
- 1 security camera
- Betting records worth approximately ₹30 lakh
Investigations have uncovered that the accused carried out transactions amounting to crores of rupees using over 500 bank accounts. The police are now working with banks to initiate the process of freezing these accounts.
41 Arrested in IPL Betting Cases This Season
With these latest arrests, the total number of people caught in IPL-related betting cases this season has climbed to 41, across 17 different cases. Police say the bets were placed using a variety of apps and platforms, all believed to be tied to the Mahadev ecosystem. These include:
- Gajanand App
- Mr Bean
- Winpro-in
- Diamond999-com
- Wood777
- Classic99-com
- Funapp
- Vazircom
- Unclebet9com
- Kingdombook9com
- Shubhlabh App
- Gold363 App
In total, over 1,500 bank accounts suspected of being involved in betting transactions have been flagged, with official requests made to freeze them.