India’s attempt to extradite Sourabh Chandrakar, the mastermind of the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online gambling racket, from Oman has hit a hurdle. Agencies in India have learned that the UAE has also sent an extradition request to Oman seeking his transfer, people familiar with the development said.
Sourabh Chandrakar is accused of running the Mahadev online betting network with co-founder Ravi Uppal. (HT File photo)
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This, officials said, means that even if India wins the extradition case in Oman—which may take months or even years—the timeline to bring him back to India will be affected as New Delhi will have to wait for Oman’s decision on the UAE’s request.
Both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are pursuing Chandrakar’s extradition since the Royal Oman Police detained him in Muscat last week of June based on an Interpol red notice. He had fled the UAE, where he was hiding since 2019, to Oman sometime in April this year using a fake passport, according to officials.
“We have learnt that the UAE authorities have also sent an extradition request for Chandrakar to Oman on some unknown charges, which we don’t know about. We are in regular touch with Omani authorities through diplomatic channels but this latest development has the potential to delay our attempts to get him sooner,” said an officer, requesting anonymity.
Officials hinted that Chandrakar might have, through his aides, registered a false case against himself in the UAE, which is now cited in Abu Dhabi’s extradition request.
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After he fled to Dubai, extradition requests sent by India twice to the UAE authorities did not fructify. He was, in fact, detained in Dubai in 2024 but was subsequently released.
Chandrakar, who is believed to be in his early 30s, set-up the Mahadev betting empire along with co-founder Ravi Uppal. Uppal went missing from the UAE sometime in November 2025 and reportedly fled to Vanuatu.
Their illegal betting operations, still running across India despite the government banning multiple platforms and apps linked to Mahadev, allow people to place illegal bets on poker and other card games, cricket, badminton, tennis and football matches and even election outcomes.
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ED has claimed, in one of its charge sheets in the case, that the “betting empire” was operating at least 3,200 (betting) panels in different cities, generating around ₹240 crore per day.
Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel is also named as accused in the probe. He has consistently denied his involvement.
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In March, ED attached 20 immovable properties worth ₹1,700 crore including high-value luxury villas in an estate and apartments in Burj Khalifa in Dubai linked to Chandrakar.
The financial crimes probe agency has claimed that “Mahadev Online Book operated as a large-scale international betting syndicate, which facilitated illegal betting through multiple online platforms and domain names such as Tiger Exchange, Gold365 and Laser247”.
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.
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Home/India News/UAE move may delay India’s bid to extradite Mahadev app kingpin
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