Aseem Das, the man who was arrested for allegedly carrying hawala transactions for Mahadev Book operatives, expressed himself with a letter. In the letter, Das can be seen retracting from his previous statements given to Enforcement Directorate (ED). He said that he is being made a scapegoat in the entire illegal betting racket.
Interestingly, Das was arrested after ED discovered Rs 5 crore cash from his car and hotel room. The accused has now changed his stance and says that ED is making him a scapegoat in the entire matter. He also said that he never supplied money to and for the operatives of Mahadev Book.
ED reported that Das claimed to have worked on instructions from Mahadev Book‘s operatives. As per ED, Das also stated that he delivered money to the ruling party in Chhattisgarh in form of political expenditure. However, his recent letter is contradictory to the statements he made earlier.
The letter revealed that Das received money from his friend Shubham Soni, who helped him in starting a construction business.
“My client just wanted to put forth his side of the story. On Friday, I told the court to take his letter on record. The money found with my client was to start a construction business and was not to be given to any politician,” said Shoaib Alvi, who is currently representing Das as per The Indian Express.
I forcefully signed a statement in English, says Das
He further claimed, “I was asked over the phone to go back to my hotel room, and within some time ED officials came to my room and took me with them. I forcefully signed a statement in English, but I do not know its contents. I have never supplied any money to any politician. I’m being made a scapegoat.”
He was told that the money for construction business will be delivered to him after reaching Raipur airport. As per the letter, Soni instructed him to park the car at a hotel parking. In the parking lot, a person on a motorcycle loaded his vehicle with bags of cash.