UAE move may delay India’s bid to extradite Mahadev app kingpin | India News

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.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.Also read: Mahadev app’s Chandrakar held in Oman; India to seek extraditionSuspicion over UAE's extradition request“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.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.Also read: ED makes new extradition bid to UAE for arrest of Mahadev app co-founderMahadev network ran thousands of betting panelsChandrakar, 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.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.Also read: ₹43,000 crore in last 7 years, says ED">Mahadev case probe: Betting apps generated proceeds of around ₹43,000 crore in last 7 years, says EDBhupesh Baghel named accused, denies involvementFormer Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel is also named as accused in the probe. He has consistently denied his involvement.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”.