Mahadev betting app promoter brought back from Oman, months after arrest in ₹6000 crore money laundering case

Sourabh Chandrakar set up the Mahadev betting empire along with co-founder Ravi Uppal. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has extradited Sourabh Chandrakar, the alleged mastermind behind the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online betting syndicate, from Oman. A team specially deputed to Oman escorted Chandrakar back to India. He will now be produced before the CBI Special Court in Raipur, an official told HT.Sourabh Chandrakar is accused of running the Mahadev online betting network with co-founder Ravi Uppal. (HT File photo)"CBI, in coordination with other central agencies has successfully secured the extradition of Sourabh Chandrakar, the promoter of the Mahadev App illegal betting syndicate, from the Sultanate of Oman. A CBI team specially deputed to Oman, has escorted him back to India. He will now be produced before the CBI Special Court in Raipur," the officer told HT, requesting anonymity.Mahadev betting app promoter, Sourabh Chandrakar, extradited from Oman. (CBI/Sourced)ALSO READ | Mahadev app case: CBI arrests key accused on return from DubaiChandrakar, who is in his early 30s, set up the Mahadev betting network along with co-founder Ravi Uppal. The duo reportedly fled to Dubai around 2019, from where their network allegedly continued to operate betting applications and websites.The development follows a series of efforts by Indian agencies to bring Chandrakar back to face investigation in the case. Based on an Interpol Red Notice, authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had briefly detained Chandrakar in October 2024 and placed him under house arrest. India sent an extradition request for him the same month. The request was not executed, eventually rendering it infructuous.ALSO READ | Sports presenter Shefali Bagga surrenders ₹1.2 crore to ED, says she ‘unknowingly’ promoted Mahadev betting appMeanwhile, Ravi Uppal, Chandrakar's alleged associate and co-founder of the betting network, had gone missing from the UAE after authorities in the Gulf country decided to close extradition proceedings against him, as reported by HT on November 4, 2025.The Mahadev online betting case involves allegations of illegal betting operations, money laundering and the generation of proceeds of crime through a network of online platforms and associated entities. The ED and other agencies have been investigating the alleged syndicate.Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read MoreScamGet Latest News, breaking headlines, and top India News, and today real-time updates from across the nation. Stay informed on politics, government policies, crime, Today Weather, and major developments on Hindustan Times