Another Mahadev case accused held in UAE, India seeks extradition

NEW DELHI: Ravi Uppal, a prime accused in the multi-crore Mahadev online betting case, has been arrested in Dubai. The development comes days after co-accused Sourabh Chandrakar was extradited to India from Oman. Enforcement authorities have formally moved for Uppal’s extradition, and sources said he is likely to be handed over soon to stand trial in India.Uppal was detained on the basis of an extradition request from India, with the CBI and ED establishing his last known location in the UAE.Uppal had briefly left the UAE for Vanuatu and acquired citizenship of the Pacific nation but failed to get his name removed from Interpol’s Red Notice as the ED had opposed his plea before the Interpol Commission for Control of Files.He was arrested by Dubai police in Dec 2023 and was under house arrest but was released in Nov 2025 despite an extradition request pending since 2023. India has an extradition treaty with the UAE, and the Gulf nation had extradited high-profile accused in the past, including British national Christian Michel, wanted in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

India had sent a formal extradition request after Dubai police informed New Delhi of his arrest. However, the UAE authorities later said no extradition request had been received and released the accused. Indian agencies again located him in Dubai in May this year, and efforts were under way to bring him back.Uppal and other co-accused, including Chandrakar, had launched the Mahadev app in 2019 and managed to expand the user base significantly during the Covid pandemic. Uppal played a key role in orchestrating the gambling network by franchising thousands of branches across India and abroad on a profit-sharing basis.