Online travel platform EaseMyTrip denies association with Mahadev app

ED conducted searches at online travel portal's premises

Online travel platform EaseMyTrip denied any association with online betting app Mahadev on Thursday, a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials conducted search operations at the company’s co-founder’s premises.

 

“As per information available in the public domain, the ED conducted searches at over 50 locations of various persons/corporates. Amongst them, one was the EaseMyTrip premises,” said a company spokesperson in a clarification.

 

“While EaseMyTrip has no direct or indirect association with the Mahadev betting app or any other betting platform, we remain fully committed to cooperating with the authorities throughout the course of the investigation,” the spokesperson added.

   

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at multiple locations linked to EaseMyTrip promoter Nishant Pitti as part of an ongoing investigation into the Mahadev betting app case, according to sources familiar with the matter. The searches are reportedly being carried out across 15 locations in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Indore, Jaipur, Chennai and Sambalpur. This action forms part of a broader probe into suspected money laundering and illegal betting activities associated with the Mahadev app.

 

The Mahadev betting app case originates from a First Information Report (FIR) that alleges large-scale illegal online gambling and cyber fraud amounting to ₹15,000 crore. The FIR names 32 individuals, including the app's alleged promoters Saurabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal and Shubham Soni, who are accused of orchestrating fraudulent schemes since 2019. Earlier in March, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also conducted a search at the residence of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in connection with this case.

 

Emails sent to the ED did not elicit any response.

 

The clarification from EaseMyTrip led to its scrip rising by 0.66% to close at ₹12.28 on Thursday on BSE. The second-largest travel portal ended the December 31, 2024 quarter with a 6.4 per cent decrease in revenue to ₹150.3 crore from ₹160.7 crore in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, its net profit fell 26 per cent to ₹33.6 crore from ₹45.6 crore in the same period last year.