CBI raids Ravi Nagar bookie's home in Nagpur in Mahadev betting app probe

The pressure of central investigating agencies on the empire of Saurabh Chandrakar, the kingpin of the Mahadev online betting app, has reached Nagpur, the sub-capital. The CBI, which is combing through cricket betting networks across the country, raided the premises of a cricket bookie in Ravi Nagar on Saturday, November 14. Cricket bookies in Nagpur are in a panic after the action. Several big bookies in the city are on the agency's radar, and some well-known names from Jaripatka are said to be among them. Major action against them is likely in the coming days.

The CBI brought Chandrakar, a key promoter of the Mahadev online betting app, to India from Oman on November 1. Since then, scrutiny of his network spread across India and abroad, and of the financial transactions and business dealings of people linked to him, has been stepped up. After his CBI custody ended on November 12, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in a money laundering case. He is currently in ED custody until November 19, on the order of a special PMLA court in Raipur.

Originally from Raipur, Chandrakar had deep reach in Nagpur as well. Several big cricket bookies in the city are linked to his network. Through them, betting on football and other online gambling, besides cricket, was run. The names of some big hawala operators who run their business from East Nagpur are also emerging in this network. Betting money running into crores was moved from place to place through these hawala dealers. It is claimed that they enjoy police protection, which is why no action is taken. The investigating agencies are now working to connect the links of this financial network.

The CBI searched more than 35 locations across the country on Saturday. As part of this action, the house of a cricket bookie in Ravi Nagar, Nagpur, was also raided. This bookie is said to have taken bets from many people on the Mahadev online betting app. However, the bookie had got wind of the agency's action beforehand and was on guard. As a result, the agency is reported to have recovered relatively few documents and other material in the raid. The CBI is now examining the bookie's contacts and financial transactions.

Nagpur's cricket bookies have amassed vast wealth in the past few years. Even so, their local network has long escaped the attention of investigating agencies. With Chandrakar's arrest, the layers of this entire network are now expected to open up. The CBI is collecting information on bookies active in Jaripatka and other parts of the city who are suspected of links to the Mahadev app.

The ED is already investigating a case of fraud worth Rs 58 crore in the name of cricket betting. Sontu Jain, the mastermind of that case, and the bookies and hawala operators linked to him continue to be questioned. Meanwhile, the CBI's latest raid has heightened unease in Nagpur's cricket betting and hawala networks. The biggest question before the agencies now is how large a network was active in Nagpur for the crores of rupees in betting run through the Mahadev app, and which prominent figures in the city played a role in it.