Mahadev Betting App Promoter Sourabh Chandrakar Detained In Oman

Sourabh Chandrakar, the alleged mastermind behind the Mahadev betting app syndicate, has been detained in Oman and Indian authorities are seeking his extradition or deportation. 

According to a PTI report, Chandrakar, a resident of Chhattisgarh who has been on the run, was detained by the Royal Oman Police a few weeks ago based on an Interpol Red Notice issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the state police.

The ED has alleged that the Mahadev betting app case involves proceeds of crime worth around ₹6,000 Cr and has links to several senior politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh.

According to investigators, Chandrakar had been using a passport issued by a Southeast Asian country while evading Indian authorities. Before his detention in Oman, Indian agencies had tracked him to Dubai, where he was detained by the UAE authorities in 2024 but was later released. 

The probe agencies have also claimed that Mahadev app cofounder Ravi Uppal subsequently fled from Dubai to Vanuatu.

Citing the strong bilateral ties between India and Oman, officials told PTI they are confident of Chandrakar being extradited or deported to India.

Chandrakar reportedly moved to Dubai in 2019. Before leaving India, he ran a juice shop named ‘Juice Factory’ with his brother in Chhattisgarh’s Bhilai. Both Chandrakar and Uppal have consistently denied any involvement in the alleged betting syndicate.

ED’s Crackdown In Mahadev Betting Case 

The development comes months after the ED attached properties worth ₹1,700 Cr belonging to Chandrakar and entities linked to him in Dubai and New Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The attached assets included 18 luxury properties in Dubai, including villas and apartments in Burj Khalifa, Dubai Hills Estate, Business Bay and SLS Hotel & Residences. Two properties in Delhi were also sealed.

The investigative agency alleged that the assets were purchased using proceeds from illegal betting operations and were held through entities controlled by Chandrakar and his associates, including Vikas Chhaparia, Rohit Gulati, Atul Arora, Nitin Tibrewal and Surendra Bagri. With the latest attachment, the total value of assets frozen or seized in the case has risen to about ₹4,336 Cr, the agency said.

Notably, it was Chandrakar’s opulent wedding in the UAE in 2023 that caught the attention of the ED and led to the unearthing of the Mahadev betting app syndicate.

According to the ED, Mahadev Book operated as an international online betting syndicate through platforms such as Tiger Exchange, Gold365 and Laser247. The network was allegedly run from Dubai through a franchise-based model with operators spread across India.

The agency alleged that the promoters retained 70-75% of the profits, while the remaining revenue was shared with operators. 

The money was then routed through mule and dummy bank accounts before being moved abroad via hawala channels, cryptocurrency transactions and layered financial structures, and invested in high-value assets in India and the UAE.

The ED has searched more than 175 locations across the country in connection with the case. It has arrested 13 people and named 74 others as accused in five prosecution complaints. It has also moved applications under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, seeking to declare Chandrakar, Uppal, and their associates Anil Agrawal, Atul Agrawal and Shubham Soni as fugitive economic offenders.

The Mahadev Book case has become one of India’s biggest alleged illegal betting and money laundering investigations. It has also drawn political attention, with the probe extending to properties linked to EaseMyTrip cofounder Nishant Pitti, who denied any wrongdoing, and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.

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