NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has carried out searches at 33 locations across six states in connection with the illegal online betting platform Mahadev Online Book, targeting premises linked to its panel operators, officials said on Saturday, November 14. The searches were conducted over the past few days following disclosures made by Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the key accused and a principal promoter of the platform, after his extradition from the Sultanate of Oman, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via Sambad English, Nov 14, 2026

The searches covered premises in Amritsar, Delhi, Nagaur, Dholpur, Bhopal, Raipur, Durg, Indore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Mumbai and Nagpur. "During these searches, live betting and gambling panels were found running and were dismantled. Digital devices, mobile phones and incriminating documents showing the use of mule accounts and a hawala network have been recovered and seized," the CBI said, according to Inc42's report of the agency's statement.

Source: Inc42, Nov 14, 2026

33Locations searched across six states over the past few days
2FIRs registered by the CBI in the Mahadev Online Book case
Nov 1, 2026Chandrakar extradited from Oman and arrested by the CBI
Nov 19, 2026Chandrakar's judicial custody — and his ED custody — run until this date

How the platform allegedly worked

According to the CBI, its investigation so far indicates the platform is run from abroad through a head office and operates in India through a large network of panel operators. These operators allegedly handle customer IDs, collect betting money in bank accounts opened or hired in the names of other persons, and send the profits abroad through hawala channels. These are the agency's allegations; they have not been proved in court.

The searches are the latest step in a fast-moving case. Chandrakar was extradited from Oman and arrested by the CBI on November 1; a special court in Raipur granted the agency eight days of police custody on November 4, and on November 12 he was remanded to judicial custody until November 19. On November 13, the Enforcement Directorate arrested him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in its separate money-laundering investigation — with the special PMLA court's permission — and secured seven days of his custody, also until November 19. The ED has described Chandrakar as a co-owner and promoter of Mahadev Online Book and says he is the 15th person it has arrested in the case.

The CBI has registered two FIRs in the Mahadev Online Book case after the investigation was transferred to it by the Chhattisgarh government. Officials said the investigation is continuing to establish the role of other accused persons, including those operating from abroad, individuals who allegedly facilitated the platform's activities, and public servants allegedly connected with the case, and that the agency is taking steps to secure the extradition of other accused who are absconding.

Cautioning the public, the CBI said online betting and gambling are illegal, and that lending or renting one's bank account, SIM card or identity documents to others for such activity is also a criminal offence that exposes the account holder to prosecution.