Mahadev app case: CBI seeks to trace ‘protection money’ network through Chandrakar

• A Raipur court granted the CBI eight days’ custody of Saurabh Chandrakar and permitted his questioning in Delhi

• The agency says it needs to identify officials suspected of receiving ‘protection money’ and trace the betting syndicate’s financial network

• The ED has estimated the alleged proceeds of crime at Rs 6,000 crore; fellow promoter Ravi Uppal faces extradition proceedings from the UAE

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is questioning Mahadev betting app promoter Saurabh Chandrakar to identify public servants in Chhattisgarh suspected of accepting payments to protect the syndicate and to trace the movement of its alleged illegal earnings.

A special court in Raipur on Wednesday granted the agency eight days’ custody of Chandrakar, who was extradited from Oman on 1 November. The court also permitted the CBI to take him to Delhi, where he was subsequently moved for questioning.

In its remand application, the agency accused Chandrakar and other Mahadev Book promoters and associates of making regular payments to police personnel, administrative officials and influential political figures in exchange for protection.

The CBI said hawala operators arranged and distributed these payments. Police officers and employees also acted as intermediaries, channelling money to officials, according to the application.

The agency told the court that custodial questioning was necessary to identify other suspected masterminds and beneficiaries, establish how the proceeds were collected and transferred abroad, and locate assets acquired with the money.

It also sought to identify serving or former public servants in Chhattisgarh who received financial benefits for allowing the betting network to operate.

Promoters’ earnings under scrutiny

According to the CBI, Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal and their associates ran the Mahadev Book platform through a network of panel and branch operators.

The promoters retained between 70 and 80 per cent of the illegal earnings, while panel operators received the balance, the agency said. It claimed that Chandrakar and other promoters had been earning approximately Rs 450 crore a month through online betting since the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

Hundreds of bank accounts were opened using forged documents to handle transactions, the CBI said. These accounts were operated on a commission basis, with panel operators routing betting proceeds through multiple accounts to promoters in the UAE.

The agency also claimed that substantial sums were spent on advertising betting websites and staging annual events featuring celebrities, whose payments came from betting proceeds.

Police personnel, administrative officials and influential political figures used their positions to secure financial benefits and acquire assets, the CBI contended.

The syndicate operated from Dubai, which its promoters described as their “head office”, according to the agency. It employed numerous young people from Chhattisgarh as managers, supervisors and other staff.

The CBI said Chandrakar left India in 2022 and remained abroad to evade investigation. Following his extradition, he was brought to Raipur on a private flight on Tuesday evening for his appearance before the trial court.

Parallel investigations

The Enforcement Directorate has been investigating suspected money laundering linked to the betting platform. It has estimated the proceeds of crime at approximately Rs 6,000 crore and attached properties in India and abroad connected to the network.

The case surfaced during the Congress government headed by Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh.

After the BJP took office, the state’s Economic Offences Wing registered an FIR in March 2024 on the basis of an ED report. The case invoked provisions relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Baghel, Chandrakar, Uppal, Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal were among those named in the FIR, along with 14 others. Baghel described the case against him as politically motivated.

In August 2024, the state government transferred several betting app cases registered at police stations, together with an EOW case, to the CBI.

Chandrakar and Uppal are from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district. Uppal has been arrested in the UAE, and Indian authorities are pursuing his extradition, officials said on Wednesday.

With PTI inputs