Bhupesh Baghel Alleges Ebix Chief Got BJP Protection; Party Denies Link
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday alleged that Ebix chairman Vikas Garg, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev betting app case, had links with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was “getting protection from the party”. The BJP denied the allegation.
Posting purported photographs of Garg with six senior BJP leaders on X, Baghel claimed Garg’s father was a former BJP MLA and that he was “receiving protection from the BJP”. He alleged that Garg was arrested by the ED only after “the syndicate’s top boss got furious over the irregularities committed by Vikas Garg in the spoils-sharing and activated their favoured ED”.
Baghel also questioned why the Government of India had not taken action against the Mahadev betting app, why it was still running, and why advertisements for it continued on social media. He asked why the app operators, who are abroad, had not been brought back to India.
Denying Baghel’s allegations, state BJP spokesperson Vijayshankar Mishra said Garg had no connection with the BJP. “It appears Baghel believes people like Vikas Garg could be associated with the BJP, but that’s not true,” Mishra said. “Whether it is Vikas Garg or anyone else, no criminal will be spared.”
In March 2024, Baghel was named an accused by the state Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the Mahadev betting app case, which was later transferred to the CBI.
Garg was arrested from his residence in Delhi. The ED produced him before a special PMLA court in Raipur on Wednesday, which remanded him to the agency’s custody for 10 days, officials said. ED counsel Sourabh Kumar Pande said the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court remanded Garg to ED custody until July 24.
Responding to Baghel’s allegations outside a Raipur court, Garg denied any connection with the BJP. “Those are just photographs from events. I have nothing more to say,” he said.
Garg’s arrest comes weeks after the ED provisionally attached properties worth Rs 940.77 crore belonging to him, his family members and entities allegedly owned or controlled by him. The attached assets include residential properties, land parcels, equity shares and other securities. During the investigation, the ED found Garg had allegedly acquired a stake in EbixCash using funds suspected to have been generated from illegal betting.
