CBI brings back Mahadev betting app promoter Sourabh Chandrakar from Oman
Chandrakar, who faces two CBI cases and an ED case, is due to be produced before a special court in Raipur on Monday.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Sunday that it had secured the extradition of Sourabh Chandrakar from Oman. Chandrakar is accused of being the main promoter of the Mahadev Online Book illegal betting network. A CBI team that went to Muscat escorted him back to India.
He is to have a medical examination and be taken to Raipur on transit remand. He is due to appear before a CBI special judge in Raipur on Monday, November 2.
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Red notice led to detention
According to the agency, the Royal Oman Police found and detained Chandrakar on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued against him. The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent formal extradition requests with supporting evidence to Omani authorities. Indian agencies followed these up with Oman through the Interpol National Central Bureau.
The CBI called the extradition a major step in its effort to bring back fugitives who run cross-border criminal operations targeting Indian citizens.
The cases against him
Chandrakar is wanted in two CBI cases in which chargesheets have been filed. He is also named in an ED money-laundering case in which a prosecution complaint has been filed. The CBI took over the investigation at the request of the Chhattisgarh government. The chargesheets invoke the Prevention of Corruption Act, IPC sections on criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery, and the state's anti-gambling law.
Investigators allege that the network was run from outside India. They say it took bets on cricket, football, card games and other events through franchised "panels" and "branches". The CBI alleges that the money was moved through mule bank accounts, passed through several layers of transactions and sent abroad through hawala channels, and that part of it was used to pay protection money to public servants. The ED has attached several properties in India and abroad. Chandrakar has not yet made any public statement on the charges, and the allegations have not been tested in court.
Why it matters
The Mahadev case is one of the biggest investigations into illegal online betting in India. Bringing back an alleged key figure could speed up trials that have so far gone ahead without him. The case also shows how hard it is for agencies to pursue betting operations run from abroad that target Indian users through apps and messaging platforms.
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