A special court in Chhattisgarh's Raipur on Wednesday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) eight-day custody of Saurabh Chandrakar, the alleged kingpin of the Rs 6,000-crore Mahadev online betting app case, officials said.
Chandrakar, who was recently extradited from Oman, was produced before Special Judge (CBI) Manoj Kumar Singh Thakur on Wednesday. The agency had sought his custody for 10 days to question him in connection with the case, defence lawyer Tushar Giri told PTI.
The court granted the CBI eight days of custody and permitted the agency to take Chandrakar to Delhi for questioning, Giri said.
Chandrakar was brought to Raipur in CBI custody on a private flight on Tuesday evening. He had been granted two-day transit remand on Monday after his extradition from Oman, allowing the agency to bring him to Chhattisgarh for production before the trial court.
The CBI registered an FIR on December 18, 2024, taking over the investigation from the Chhattisgarh State Economic Offence Bureau following notifications issued by the state government and the Centre.
According to the allegations, Chandrakar and co-accused Ravi Uppal, along with their associates, promoted the Mahadev Book App and operated an online betting syndicate through a network of panel and branch operators.
Hundreds of bank accounts were allegedly opened on a commission basis to facilitate the routing of proceeds from illegal betting to the United Arab Emirates through multiple accounts.
The accused allegedly operated the syndicate from Dubai, which was referred to as its 'Head Office', and recruited a large number of youths from Chhattisgarh as managers.
(With inputs from PTI)