Federal sleuths struck across six states at dawn. Acting on disclosures extracted from extradited promoter Sourabh Chandrakar, the Central Bureau of Investigation raided 33 premises tied to the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online betting scam. Teams swept through properties in Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Amritsar, Bhopal, and Raipur over several days. They seized mobile phones, cloned digital storage drives, and intercepted records mapping an intricate hawala labyrinth.
Several illegal betting panels were caught running live. CBI agents dismantled them on site.
The breakthrough followed the extradition of Chandrakar from Oman. Arrested on November 1 immediately upon landing, the key syndicate promoter faced relentless questioning after a special court in Raipur granted investigators eight days of police custody. Federal interrogators confronted him with internal ledger extracts, server logs, and digital forensics collected over months of cross-border tracking. Once questioning concluded, the Raipur court remanded Chandrakar to judicial custody.
The agency has registered two FIRs in the ₹6,000-crore scandal, taking over local dockets initially filed by the Chhattisgarh Police. The platform operated like a corporate conglomerate with a criminal core. It ran illicit betting rings for cricket, football, and card games, harvesting millions of retail wagers through heavily franchised regional branches across India.
The operational mechanics relied on layered deception. Syndicate bosses set up an offshore headquarters outside India and deployed thousands of domestic panel operators to handle day-to-day punters. These local handlers distributed user credentials, accepted direct cash infusions, and funnelled the betting pool through dummy accounts opened in the names of vulnerable, unsuspecting third parties. From there, the illicit profits moved swiftly abroad through shadowy hawala corridors.
Investigation conducted so far has revealed that the platform is run from abroad through a Head Office and operates in India through a large network of panel operators. These operators handle customer IDs, collect betting money in the bank accounts exclusively opened or hired in the names of other persons, and send the profits abroad through hawala channels.
Beena Yadav, CBI Spokesperson
Federal agents are expanding their net beyond the bookmakers. The CBI confirmed that the ongoing probe encompasses external facilitators, regional political conduits, and public servants suspected of shielding the syndicate in exchange for protection payoffs.
| Case Parameter | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Syndicate Estimated Scale | ₹6,000 Crore |
| Key Accused Extradited | Sourabh Chandrakar (Arrested Nov 1, 2024 from Oman) |
| Current Custody Status | Remanded to Judicial Custody by Special Court Raipur |
| Search Operations | 33 Locations across 6 States |
| Target Cities | Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Amritsar, Bhopal, Raipur |
| Investigating Agency | Central Bureau of Investigation (2 FIRs registered) |
But the hunt remains incomplete. The CBI confirmed that formal extradition requests are advancing through diplomatic channels to apprehend the remaining absconding syndicate bosses hiding overseas.