Sourabh Chandrakar's rise to infamy: A shop worker to organiser of illegal betting app
In 2023, HT spoke to neighbours and former associates in his Chhattisgarh hometown to trace his journey from shop worker to illegal betting network promoter.
Sourabh Chandrakar, known as Saurabh "Mahadev" Chandrakar in Bhilai, was extradited from Oman by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other agencies on Sunday. The 29-year-old is the mastermind behind the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online gambling syndicate. He and co-founder Ravi Uppal built the empire in 2017. Chandrakar grew up in a dilapidated home in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, and started working at commercial complexes by 2014.
He was already betting and gambling on his phone by 2014-2015. In 2017, Chandrakar was roped into building a network by Uppal, who had already developed an app. By 2021, the police found signs of organised illegal activity in Talpuri International Colony and arrested Chandrakar and Uppal in 2022. The Mahadev app provided online platforms for illegal betting in various games and sports, and identified Chandrakar and Uppal as primary promoters.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested four people in a money laundering case in 2023, alleging political linkages with then-chief minister Bhupesh Baghel's supporters.
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