Mahadev Betting App Prime Accused Arrested in Dubai, To be Deported to India

New Delhi: Ravi Uppal, one of the two major promoters of the Mahadev betting app was arrested by the police in Dubai following a red corner notice issued by Interpol at the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Uppal was arrested last week. He is expected to be deported to India soon.

The Mahadev app reportedly turned over a profit of Rs 200 crore a day. In November ED claimed that the promoters of the app had paid Rs 508 crore to then Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.

It was found that arrested Uppal holds a passport of Vanuatu, a country in the Pacific Ocean, but had not given up his Indian citizenship.

Efforts are on to nab another promoter of the app, Sourabh Chandrakar, whose Rs 200-crore wedding in Dubai in February was attended by several Bollywood celebrities.

The ED has, so far, arrested 6 people in the case – Sunil Damani, Anil Damani, Assistant Sub-Inspector Chandrabhushan Verma of the Chhattisgarh Police, a constable and Satish Chandrakar.

The Indian operations were being run by brothers Anil and Sunil Damani. The Damani brothers opened several benami bank accounts, which were used to move money. The promoters would send cash to the Damani brothers in Chhattisgarh using hawala channels and Assistant Sub-Inspector Chandrabhushan Verma would deliver part of it to police officers, bureaucrats and politicians as bribes.