The Central Bureau of Investigation searched the Ravi Nagar residence of an alleged Mahadev betting app panel operator in Nagpur on Friday as part of a wider operation at 33 locations across six states, according to a report by the Times of India. Bank-related documents and digital devices were seized, but no arrest was made at the Nagpur premises.
The CBI team, which travelled to Nagpur for the operation, searched the residence for about four hours and questioned the alleged operator at length, the report said. Investigators are examining claims that betting money collected through the local panel was routed to operators in Chhattisgarh, the United Arab Emirates and other parts of India.
The searches were reportedly linked to disclosures made by Saurabh Chandrakar after his extradition from Oman. Chandrakar, described as one of the principal promoters of the Mahadev platform, was arrested by the CBI on November 1. A special CBI court in Raipur granted him eight days of police custody before remanding him to judicial custody until November 19.
The wider operation focused on alleged mule accounts, hawala channels and digital infrastructure connected to the betting platform. The CBI seized mobile phones, other digital devices and documents during the searches. Live betting and gambling panels were found operating at some locations and were dismantled, according to the report.
The Nagpur operation has renewed attention on the city’s alleged links to the Mahadev betting network. The report said several franchises and panels continued to operate in areas including Wardhaman Nagar and Sadar. These claims were presented as information from sources and were not accompanied in the supplied report by a public statement from the CBI detailing the individual Nagpur locations.
Nagpur’s links to the platform had earlier come under scrutiny in February 2023, when city police reportedly verified the guest list of about 25 to 30 people from Nagpur who had travelled to the UAE for a wedding associated with Chandrakar. The report said several bookies subsequently went underground after the event attracted attention. The platform’s name also surfaced in a 2023 suicide case involving a mother and son in Wardhaman Nagar, reportedly after heavy betting losses.
The latest searches place Nagpur within a multi-state investigation that combines local betting panels, cross-border money movement and digital evidence. The CBI’s seizure of documents and devices is expected to support its examination of alleged financial routes and links between local agents and wider operators. The investigation will proceed through the agency’s stated legal process, while the supplied report does not indicate any arrest from the Nagpur search.
