A joke, says C'garh CM on ED's cash claim

New Delhi, NT Bureau, Agencies: The Enforcement Directorate claimed Friday it has recorded a statement of a 'cash courier' who alleged that the promoters of the Mahadev betting app have paid Rs 508 crore to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel till now, and that it is a "subject matter of investigation".

Reacting to the ED claim, CM Baghel reportedly said: “What can be a bigger joke than this?”

“You can force anyone by thrashing or pressurizing him to extract any statement naming the chief minister. What if I catch someone and force him to name the Prime Minister in a case? Does it mean that the Prime Minister needs to be questioned?” he said after returning to Patan, his constituency, from a day of campaigning.

The courier, Asim Das, has been arrested by the agency after it recovered Rs 5.39 crore from him in the poll-bound state.

The Mahadev online betting app and its promoters are being investigated by the ED under the anti-money laundering law.