Mahadev case: Promoter brought back from Oman

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. 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.

Also Read I CBI takes over case of Keralam man in Tripura State Rifles missing since 2012 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”.

Asserting why Chandrakar’s extradition is crucial, an officer said that “several public servants including police officers and politicians who were allegedly bribed by Mahadev promoters are under the scanner in this case”.

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has also been named by CBI in the case. ED had claimed in one of its charge sheets that Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal have paid bribes worth ₹508 crore to Baghel. The illegal betting operations are still running across India despite the government banning multiple platforms and apps linked to Mahadev, according to officials.

The federal agency said Mahadev app’s systematic operation ran locally with the “active support and connivance” of local police and politicians from Chhattisgarh and that “the bureaucrats and politically exposed persons have been receiving illegal gratification for turning a blind eye to this illegal betting racket”.

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 More