Saurabh Chandrakar, the prime accused in India’s biggest online betting scam, has been arrested in Oman. According to investigative sources, Oman police arrested him in the last week of June.
The Indian government has now initiated extradition proceedings to bring him back to India. Investigators feel that bringing back Sourav, who has been absconding for a long time, could be a major breakthrough in the investigation of the Mahadev online betting case.
According to sources, Saurabh Chandrakar has been arrested by Oman’s Royal Police based on a red notice issued by Interpol at the request of the Indian Investigation Agency. However, Indian organizations are awaiting full confirmation of this information at the government level
Preliminary investigations revealed that Sourav Chandrakar had entered Oman using a fake passport from a Southeast Asian country. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is hopeful that he will be brought back to India soon as there is an extradition agreement between India and Oman.
Saurabh Chandrakar, who has been absconding since 2019, is accused of setting up a massive online betting network called ‘Mahadev’ along with Ravi Uppal. That year Dubai fled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Investigators claim that a large part of this betting ring still operates from there.
Earlier, Sourav was arrested in Dubai in 2024 based on an Interpol red notice. He was later placed under house arrest but India’s extradition request ultimately failed. As a result, he was released. Similarly, extradition proceedings against his colleague Ravi Uppal were initiated but never progressed. Investigators later claimed he went missing.
The Mahadev online betting app scam is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Chhattisgarh Police. Investigations revealed that the ring was used to place illegal bets online on poker, card games, cricket, football, tennis, badminton and even various election results.
According to the ED chargesheet, the betting ring was operated through at least 3,200 betting panels across the country. The investigation claimed that a daily transaction of Rs 240 crores takes place. Around 20 villas were rented out in Dubai to run the business, which also allegedly employed around 3,500 workers.
The name of former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel has also come up for investigation. But Baghel has denied the allegations leveled against him. According to investigators, if Sourav Chandrakar is brought back to India, more important information about the financial transactions, international connections and role of influential people involved in the much-talked-about betting scam could come out.