Sourabh Chandrakar set up the Mahadev betting empire along with co-founder Ravi Uppal.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), along with other agencies, has extradited Sourabh Chandrakar — the mastermind behind the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online gambling syndicate — from Oman, officials said.
“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,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday.
Briefly detained by Interpol, under house arrest
Chandrakar, in his 30s, was wanted by multiple agencies including Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Chhattisgarh police.
One of the most wanted person in connection with the racket, Chandrakar set-up the Mahadev betting empire along with co-founder Ravi Uppal. The two fled to Dubai sometime in 2019. According to an ED probe, their network still runs betting apps and websites from there.
Based on an Interpol red notice, the UAE authorities briefly detained Chandrakar in October 2024 and kept him under house arrest. The same month, India sent an extradition request for him which was not executed, “thereby making it infructuous”.
HT reported on November 4, 2025, that Ravi Uppal had gone missing from the UAE after authorities in the gulf country decided to close extradition proceedings against him. Sometime this year, Chandrakar also managed to flee from UAE to Oman.
Based on the Interpol red notice, he was located in Muscat and detained by Royal Omani police in late June.
“CBI and ED immediately sent formal extradition proposals to the Sultanate of Oman, along with all the evidence gathered against him. The extradition request was pursued in close coordination with the agencies of the Government of India and the Interpol’s National Central Bureau (NCB), and with the support of the competent authorities of the Sultanate of Oman. Once the extradition was granted, a CBI team travelled to Muscat and escorted him back to India,” said the spokesperson.
CBI, the spokesperson added, “acknowledges with gratitude the cooperation extended by the government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Royal Oman Police, which reflects the close and friendly relations between the two countries and their shared resolve to combat transnational organized crime”.
