Ravi Uppal, a co-promoter of the Mahadev Online Book betting platform, has been arrested in Dubai, officials said on Wednesday. The 46-year-old was arrested by Dubai authorities on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued at the request of Indian investigative agencies, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are working to secure his extradition to India, officials said.

Source: PTI via Daily Jagran

Indian agencies have learnt about the arrest through unofficial channels, and formal communication from the United Arab Emirates authorities is still awaited. Officials said efforts were under way to obtain confirmation through diplomatic and law-enforcement channels and to expedite the extradition proceedings. An Indian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the reported arrest as a major breakthrough.

Source: Fact report on the Uppal arrest

The development comes three days after a CBI team brought Uppal's associate and fellow promoter Sourabh Chandrakar back to India from Oman on November 1, after a court in Oman approved his extradition in connection with the money-laundering case being investigated by the ED. Chandrakar had been detained by the Royal Oman Police on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice.

Chandrakar in CBI custody until November 12

In a parallel court development on Wednesday, a special CBI court in Raipur granted the agency eight days of custodial remand of Chandrakar, until November 12, with permission to take him to Delhi for questioning. The CBI had sought 10 days of custody. Special Judge Manoj Kumar Singh Thakur passed the order, and Chandrakar is scheduled to be produced before the court again on November 12.

Source: ANI via Daily Prabhat

A second detention in Dubai

This is not Uppal's first detention in the Emirates. An Interpol Red Notice was issued against him in October 2023, and Dubai authorities took him into custody in December that year. The ED submitted an extradition request to the UAE in January 2024, but Uppal was released within about 45 days of his detention. Investigators later learnt that he had left the UAE. According to officials, he recently returned to Dubai, where he has now reportedly been taken into custody again. Uppal is a resident of Bhilai in Chhattisgarh.

According to the ED's investigation, Uppal and Chandrakar jointly controlled the Mahadev Online Book platform from Dubai. The agency has alleged that Uppal supervised the financial network of the alleged syndicate, including hawala transactions worth hundreds of crores of rupees, and coordinated with betting operators. These are allegations in an ongoing investigation and have not been established by a final judicial determination. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, whose name has figured in allegations connected to the investigation, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The ED has filed prosecution complaints against 116 accused persons and entities in connection with the case, and the CBI registered its own case in December 2024 after taking over the investigation from Chhattisgarh's Economic Offences Wing. Apart from Uppal, the ED is also pursuing another accused who is believed to be in Dubai.

What happens next depends on confirmation of the detention and completion of the extradition procedure with the UAE authorities. If Uppal is returned, investigators say they would question both alleged promoters about the functioning of the syndicate and the movement of its money, and compare their accounts of its financial transactions.