New Delhi — The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in coordination with other central agencies, has extradited Sourabh Chandrakar, the promoter of the Mahadev App illegal online betting syndicate, from Oman, the agency said in a statement on Sunday. A CBI team travelled to Muscat, took custody of Chandrakar and escorted him back to India.
Source: ANI
Chandrakar had been detained by the Royal Oman Police following an Interpol Red Corner Notice issued against him, the CBI said. Following a medical examination and after transit remand is secured, he will be taken to Raipur and produced before the CBI Special Judge there on Monday.
The CBI took up the Mahadev Online Book investigation at the request of the Chhattisgarh government. Investigators say the syndicate was among India's largest alleged illegal online betting networks, run from outside the country through a network of franchised panels and branches, offering betting on cricket, football and card games, with the alleged money trail running into thousands of crores of rupees.
Source: India News
Chargesheets in the CBI cases have been filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Indian Penal Code provisions on criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery, and the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, with Chandrakar named as a key accused. He is also an accused in an Enforcement Directorate money-laundering case in which a prosecution complaint has been filed and properties in India and abroad have been attached. Chandrakar had earlier been detained in Dubai in 2024 but was subsequently released, and co-founder Ravi Uppal is also an accused in the case. The allegations are yet to be tested in court.
Chandrakar's production before the CBI Special Judge in Raipur on Monday will open the custody and trial proceedings in the two CBI cases, while the ED pursues its separate money-laundering prosecution.