Mahadev app owner Sourabh Chandrakar 'detained' in Dubai

Mahadev app owner Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the main promoters of the online betting application, has been detained in Dubai on December 27, reported news agency PTI.He has been put under ‘house detention’ as of now and the Indian authorities are working through diplomatic channels to get him deported. According to sources, Chandrakar's location in Dubai has been intimated to the federal agency. The ED claimed that Sourabh Chandrakar got married at Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE in February 2023 and about ₹200 crore ‘in cash’ were spent for this event in which private jets were hired to ferry his relatives from India to the UAE and celebrities were paid to perform.

Earlier in the day, Deepak Nepali – the prime suspect involved in the betting app case under the National Security Act, was arrested from Chhattisgarh's Durg district. The joint operation was carried out by Durg Crime Branch and Vaishali Nagar Police. Nepali hails from Chhattisgarh's Vaishali Nagar and was directly involved in the procurement of fake IDs so that the fraudulent activities of the betting racket continue. An ED investigation uncovered a vast network providing illegal betting in various games operated by Mahadev Online Book. Betting included poker, card games, cricket, badminton and tennis, and even extended to allowing bets on the Indian elections. The platform also offered card games like "Teen Patti", poker, "Dragon Tiger", and virtual cricket games, among others. The platform has also been accused of match-fixing, money laundering through cryptocurrency, and rigging games to ensure profits for panel owners and heavy losses for players. Mahadev Online Book operations not only maintained websites and closed chat groups but also tried to lure people into illegal betting. The ED investigation even led to the questioning of politicians and Bollywood stars in relation to the scam. Sourabh Chandrakar, 28, and Ravi Uppal, 43, are considered to be the heart of the operations that have amassed around Rs 6,000 crore through the illegal betting app. Both are originally from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh but have been based in Dubai for nearly two years.