In the multi-crore betting syndicate case, Sourabh Chandrakar, the founder of the Mahadev betting mobile app in India, was arrested by the Omani authorities and works are underway to either extradite or deport him to India for an investigation into the Bangladesh case.
Chandrakar, who is from Chhattisgarh, was arrested by the Royal Oman Police several weeks ago on the basis of a Red Notice issued by the Interpol on India’s request, including that of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Chhattisgarh Police, officials said.
The ED has also accused the Mahadev betting app syndicate of raking in profits of almost Rs 6,000 crore involving several influential politicians and bureaucrats from the Chhattisgarh state. Investigators credit Chandrakar with being on his way to Sri Lanka by means of a passport from a country in Southeast Asia.
Earlier, the Indian agencies had monitored Chandrakar in Dubai and he was briefly arrested and later let go. One of his alleged associates, Ravi Uppal, who is alleged to be a former app developer for Mahadev has allegedly left the UAE and gone into hiding in Vanuatu.
India is confident of its success in getting Chandrakar back on its own turf, given the excellent state of the bilateral relations between India and Oman, officials said. The authorities are following-up with the extradition and deportation of him to bring him back for trial.
Prior to Chandrakar moving to Dubai in 2019, he said he ran a little juicer and café in Bhillai, Chhattisgarh, where he built up a reputation as one of the hottest online betting scandals in India.