Dabur's Burman family alleges members' names in Mahadev app case an attempt to block Religare buy

Mumbai: Dabur promoter Burman family on Tuesday alleged vested interests are attempting to block their acquisition of a stake in Religare Enterprises, after two senior members were booked in the multi-crore Mahadev app case.

In a statement, the family said it is shocked by what it termed as an 'arm twisting' move and denied any involvement in the case.

'This FIR (first information report) is nothing but a step provoked by vested interests in an attempt to block the acquisition of Religare Enterprises by Burman Family,' the statement said.

The city police had on November 7 filed an FIR in the case, naming 32 people, including Dabur's Mohit Burman and Gaurav Burman, as accused. The police said the betting app has defrauded people of Rs 15,000 crore since 2019.

Stating that the FIR is being selectively circulated in the media, the Burman family statement said both Mohit and Gaurav do not know the accused people mentioned in the case.

'Curiously, the FIR comes at a time when the Burman Family has sought to increase its existing shareholding of 21.24 per cent in Religare Enterprises and launched a legitimate open offer under the SEBI Takeover Code,' the statement added.

While pursuing the process, the Burman family brought to the notice of the Board and the regulators certain 'governance issues' being perpetrated by Rashmi Saluja, the current chairman of Religare. The family further said that vested interests are now attempting to stall the deal.

These moves are 'grossly illegal', the Burman family said, stressing that it remains resolute to go ahead with the Religare acquisition.

It denied receiving any communication with regard to the FIR but added that they have 'sighted' the document which has been circulated to media houses.

The FIR is 'patently false and baseless', the statement added.

The directorate of enforcement had recently said that a promoter of the betting app had paid over Rs 508 crore to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, a charge denied by the congress leader.