Mahadev betting case: Chandrakar appears before Raipur PMLA court as ED seeks custody

Saurabh Chandrakar (centre), an accused in the Mahadev online betting case, is escorted through a crowd. Photo: ANI.

Saurabh Chandrakar was produced before Special Judge Amit Rathore on 13 November. A day earlier, the special CBI court had ordered judicial custody until 19 November after his eight-day CBI remand ended.

Key Highlights

• The special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act issued a production warrant for Chandrakar, who was brought from Raipur Central Jail for Friday’s hearing.
• The CBI court’s order of 12 November set judicial custody until 19 November. The outcome of the ED’s separate custody proceedings could not be independently verified.
• Chandrakar was extradited from Oman earlier this month. The CBI is investigating the alleged betting operation, while the ED is pursuing the money-laundering case.

Raipur: Saurabh Chandrakar, an alleged promoter of the Mahadev Online Book betting network, was produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur on Friday, 13 November 2026, as the Enforcement Directorate pursued custody to question him in its money-laundering investigation. Special Judge Amit Rathore heard the matter after Chandrakar was brought from Raipur Central Jail under a production warrant.

The appearance came a day after a separate court hearing in the Central Bureau of Investigation case. On Thursday, Special CBI Judge Manoj Kumar Singh Thakur sent Chandrakar to judicial custody until 19 November. Defence counsel Tushar Giri told reporters that the CBI had completed eight days of custodial questioning and did not seek an extension.

How the ED secured Friday’s court appearance

The ED first approached the CBI court on Thursday to seek execution of an outstanding non-bailable warrant against Chandrakar. Giri said the court dismissed that application. ED counsel Saurabh Kumar Pandey then said the agency would approach the designated PMLA court to pursue his arrest in the money-laundering case.

The PMLA court subsequently issued a production warrant, which required Chandrakar to be brought before it from jail. That warrant enabled Friday’s appearance. A separate order would determine whether the ED could take him into custody for questioning and for how long.

From extradition to the Raipur hearings

Chandrakar was brought to India from Oman on 1 November. A Delhi court granted two days of transit remand the following day, allowing investigators to take him to Raipur. He appeared before the special CBI court there on 4 November and was placed in CBI custody for eight days. When that period ended on 12 November, he was sent to Raipur Central Jail under the judicial remand order.

At the 4 November hearing, the CBI said it wanted to identify public servants who allegedly received payments to allow the betting operation to continue. The agency alleged that money was moved through hawala channels and that some of the proceeds were used to make protection payments. These allegations form part of the investigation.

What investigators allege about the betting network

The ED alleges that Mahadev Online Book provided the infrastructure for several betting websites to register users and create accounts. Investigators describe an operation run through franchised branches, known as panels, that handled users and betting transactions. The ED has named Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, both from Bhilai, as alleged promoters and says the network was controlled from Dubai.

The money-laundering investigation draws on police cases registered in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. The ED alleges that funds passed through accounts held in other people’s names, shell entities and multiple transactions before being moved offshore or used to buy assets. In a July 2026 statement, the agency said the value of assets attached, seized or frozen in the wider case had reached about ₹3,800 crore, including foreign assets.