In yet another development in the Mahadev app scam, the Mumbai Police have booked 32 people, including the director of Dabur Gaurav Burman and company chairman Mohit Burman under sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Citing the FIR, an ET report said that Mohit Burman has been listed as the 16th accused while Gaurav Burman is the 18th accused in the Mahadev betting app scam. 

The FIR was registered on a complaint filed by social activist Prakash Bankar on November 7. The social activist claimed that people have been defrauded to the tune of INR 15,000 Cr.

However, the Burman family of Dabur group has denied any involvement or role as alleged by the Mumbai Police.

“We have not received any formal communication on any such FIR. However, we have sighted the FIR which is being circulated to media houses. The FIR is patently false and baseless. Nothing could be further from the truth than as wrongly stated in the FIR,” said a spokesperson for the family.

Incidentally, the FIR also names actor Sahil Khan as accused number 26. Khan is accused of running another betting app related to Mahadev’s betting app, Khiladi.

“Sahil is not only accused of promotion but of earning huge profits by operating the app,” the FIR stated.

The development comes as dozens of big names and Bollywood celebrities have been included in various chargesheets and complaints registered by the police and the Directorate of Enforcement (ED). 

Last month, the ED filed a chargesheet in the Mahadev app scam, including the promoters Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, along with 12 other celebrities.

These include the likes of Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Huma Qureshi, among other Bollywood A-listers.

The scam, which came to light after Chanrakar’s lavish wedding in Dubai, has made headlines for the past month or so. While the investigation is on, the two promoters have denied any wrongdoing. 

In a statement sent to Inc42 last month, the duo said that the ED investigation was focussed on ‘scapegoating’ them rather than revealing the truth. They also claimed that a third person by the name of Subham Soni was the principal architect behind the Mahadev app, who operated the app through an entity based in the tax haven of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

As per media reports, the proceeds of the crime in the case are estimated to be around INR 6,000 Cr, of which ED has provisionally attached INR 41 Cr. A PMLA court will now likely take cognisance of the chargesheet during the next scheduled hearing on November 25.