Mahadev app scam: Ranbir Kapoor summoned - actor's brush with law in the past

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned actor Ranbir Kapoor for questioning on Friday in connection with the Mahadev betting application money-laundering case in Chhattisgarh, officials said. They said the agency has accused Kapoor of receiving money from the promoters of the app for promoting their product in the virtual (online) space. Around 14-15 other celebrities and actors are under the ED's scanner in the case and they will also be summoned soon, sources said.

This is not the first time the Brahmastra actor had a brush with the law. 

2 things you need to know

• The ED has asked Ranbir Kapoor to appear at the agency's Raipur office on October 6.
• Despite several attempts to contact the actor, there was no response from him.

(Ranbir receives ED summon in Mahadev App scam | Image: X)

Ranbir Kapoor pleads guilty in Rajasthan case

As per a PTI report from late August 2012, Ranbir Kapoor was fined Rs 200 by a district court in Udaipur for smoking in public. The actor was accused of violating the Rajasthan Prevention of Smoking Act. A local daily published his images of allegedly smoking back in May 2012 while he was shooting for Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani with Deepika Padukone.

During the court appearance in the case, Kapoor's lawyer KK Purohit reportedly said that "smoking in public" was part of the film's scene. He also said that the act would not be repeated. According to the Rajasthan Prevention of Smoking Act, a person found guilty of smoking in public can be sentenced to up to six months in prison or face a fine of Rs 200. The actor reportedly paid the fine.

FIR lodged against Ranbir Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar 

Back in 2015, allegedly a man named Rajat Bansal had lodged an FIR against Farhan Akhtar and Ranbir Kapoor under IPC sections 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (forgery), as per PTI. The FIR, as said by the agency, was based on, “criminal breach of trust and forgery for promoting an online shopping site which is allegedly “duping” customers. An FIR under the same sections has reportedly been lodged against directors of an online portal askmebazaar.com – Sanjiv Gupta, Anand Sonbhadra, Piyush Pankaj, Kiran Kumar Sriniwas Murti and marketing officer Puja Goyal.

Bollywood, influencers in ED's net?

Ranbir Kapoor has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate over his endorsement of the Mahadev app. Other 14 other celebrities -- Tiger Shroff, Ali Asgar, Vishal Dadlani, Neha Kakkar, Elli Avram, Bharti Singh, Sunny Leone, Bhagyashree, Pulkit Samrat, Kriti Kharbanda, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Krushna Abhishek, Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan performed at an event in Dubai. A list of 100 influencers and celebrities has been prepared by ED who participated and reportedly benefitted from Mahadev app.

(With PTI inputs)