India officials are preparing to extradite Sourabh Chandrakar, who is one of the promoters of the Mahadev Online Book App and the main accused in a ₹6,000 crore betting racket. Some sources said that Chandrakar was detained last week in the UAE in an operation based on an Interpol Red Notice. ED, along with CBI, Chhattisgarh Police, and the Ministry of External Affairs, are collaborating to fast-track the extradition so that he can be brought back to India as soon as possible.
On Thursday, Chandrakar was ordered to be released from the Raipur court in Chhattisgarh to be extradited to UAE for required action. Since late December of the previous year, Chandrakar and his business partner Ravi Uppal were under what’s called “house detention” in Dubai.
The ED investigation on the betting scam showed that Mahadev Online Book App was situated in Dubai, and it became a franchise in which shareholders shared profits in a 70:30 ratio. In November, the ED accused Chandrakar and Uppal of giving bribes of ₹508 crore to Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. According to the FIR, persons promoting the app had to give handsome ransoms to the police and administrative officials to let them function freely and carry on with the illicit business. It was reportedly channelled to the high-ranking police officers through hawala operators, making it a circle of corruption between the police force and the political leadership.
Also, the ED had registered two charge sheets, and one of the charge sheets included the names Chandrakar and Uppal. The investigation also asserted that Chandrakar got married in February 2023 in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. He spent approximately 200 crores on his marriage, including hiring private jets to bring relatives from India and paying celebrities to dance.
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