Juice seller from Bhilai extradited to India over alleged Rs 94,400-crore betting network
Sourabh Chandrakar, once a juice-shop employee in Bhilai, was extradited from Oman after Indian agencies linked him to a large illegal betting operation that authorities say generated about Rs 94,400 crore.
Indian law-enforcement agencies say Sourabh Chandrakar, who previously worked at a family-run juice shop in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, operated a betting platform known as Mahadev Online Book from Dubai. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) estimates that the platform and related sites produced proceeds of crime amounting to roughly Rs 94,400 crore over a ten-year period.
Chandrakar is alleged to have partnered with Ravi Uppal, a regular visitor to the juice shop, to build a network of more than 3,200 betting panels across India and the United Arab Emirates. According to the ED, the Dubai-based headquarters franchised these panels on a 70:30 profit-sharing basis, with agents enrolling customers and handling wagers on sports and card games. Financial investigators say the earnings were moved through mule bank accounts, layered transactions and hawala channels before reaching overseas promoters.
Authorities also cite Chandrakar’s personal expenditures as evidence of the alleged money-laundering scheme. In February 2023, he reportedly spent around Rs 200 crore on a wedding held at the Waldorf Astoria in Ras Al Khaimah, which featured performances by several Indian entertainers. The ED traced payments related to the event through hotels, travel agents and aircraft operators.
Further investigations revealed that Chandrakar obtained a Vanuatu passport in May 2022 while still holding an Indian passport, which was later revoked. Property assets in Dubai and elsewhere, valued at an estimated Rs 3,500 crore, have been attached by Indian authorities.
Chandrakar was detained by Royal Oman Police in Muscat in June 2026 on an Interpol Red Corner Notice and was extradited to India on 1 November 2026 after legal proceedings in Oman. He now faces prosecution in two Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases and a separate ED money-laundering case.
"The extradition provides a critical breakthrough for investigators seeking to map the full extent of the betting network and trace the overseas proceeds," a CBI spokesperson said.