Mahadev betting app kingpin Chandrakar sent to judicial custody till 19 November

A special CBI court in Raipur on Thursday remanded Saurabh Chandrakar, the alleged kingpin of the Mahadev betting app scam, to seven days of judicial custody. He will remain in custody till 19 November. The order came after the completion of his eight-day CBI remand. The court also dismissed the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) application seeking execution of a non-bailable warrant against Chandrakar.

Chandrakar was extradited from Oman to India on 1 November following an Interpol Red Corner Notice. The CBI had registered an FIR in the case on 18 December 2024, taking over the investigation from the Chhattisgarh State Economic Offences Bureau. The CBI has alleged that Chandrakar and co-accused were making Rs 450 crore per month through the betting app since 2020 and paid protection money to government officials and politicians in Chhattisgarh through hawala channels. The ED has provisionally attached properties in India and Dubai worth nearly Rs 1,700 crore in a parallel money laundering investigation. The ED has said it will approach the special PMLA court to seek Chandrakar's custody.