Shares of Dabur India will be in focus today after its group chairman Mohit V. Burman and director Gaurav V. Burman are among 32 people named in an FIR lodged by Mumbai Police in the Mahadev betting app case. Extending fall for the second straight session, Dabur shares declined as much as 1% to ₹524.90 in the opening trade on the BSE. In the previous session, Dabur share price dropped 1.04% to settle at ₹530.15 apiece.
Mumbai police have registered the case under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (conspiracy), IT Act (for cyber terrorism), and the Gambling Act, which alleged that Mohit and Gaurav Burman allegedly had links to one of the bookies for match-fixing in cricket leagues.
As per the first information report (FIR) registered on November 8, based on a complaint filed by social activist Prakash Bankar, the accused have defrauded people of nearly ₹15,000 crore.
However, the Burman family refuted all the allegations, saying that they had no knowledge of any FIR naming them. “We have not received any formal communication on any such FIR. However, we have sighted the FIR which is being circulated to media houses,” says a spokesperson of Burman family.
“The FIR is patently false and baseless. Nothing could be further from the truth than as wrongly stated in the FIR. From a copy of the FIR that is being circulated in the media, we note that allegations are being made that Mohit Burman and Gaurav Burman are directly related to some of the accused. There is an “unseen – Exhibit F” which seems to lay out some so-called relationships,” as per the statement released by a Burman family spokesperson.
The release further notes that Mohit Burman and Gaurav Burman “don’t even know or have ever met the accused mentioned in the FIR being circulated selectively in the media”.
The Burman family alleges that the FIR is nothing but a “step provoked by vested interests in an attempt to block the acquisition of Religare Enterprises Limited by Burman Family”.
The development comes at a time when the Burman Family has sought to increase its existing shareholding of 21.24% in Religare Enterprises and launched a legitimate open offer under the SEBI takeover code.
In September this year, the Burman group-owned entities announced an open offer to acquire up to 26% equity stake in Religare Enterprises in a deal valued at ₹2,116 crore, payable in cash. The Burman family, through its group entities, is currently the single largest shareholder in REL, and holds around 21% stake through M.B. Finmart Private Limited, Puran Associates Private Limited, VIC Enterprises Private Limited, and Milky Investment & Trading Company. All four entities have jointly announced an open offer to acquire up to 90,042,541 fully paid-up equity shares of the Mumbai-based firm.
Currently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating the Mahadev betting app case. The central government recently issued blocking orders against 22 illegal betting apps and websites, including Mahadev app, amid the ongoing probe led by the ED.
The promoters of the Mahadev app – Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal - are currently in custody after being arrested under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for alleged money laundering.
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