CBI Arrests Mahadev Betting App Kingpin Abhishek Kumar After Dubai Arrival

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested Abhishek Kumar, described as one of the kingpins of the Mahadev Betting App scam, shortly after he landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad from Dubai on Thursday.

According to the agency, its probe has established that Kumar was actively involved in running betting panels, gathering funds and buying immovable properties in Dubai with money that is suspected to be the proceeds of the illegal operation. Incriminating material was seized from him during a search carried out immediately after his arrest, officials said.

The seized material, the CBI said, prima facie points to his role in running the Mahadev Betting App and indicates that he worked in close coordination with the main accused, Saurabh Chandrakar and Shubham Soni.

Following his arrest, Kumar was produced before a local court in Hyderabad, which granted a three-day transit remand. He was subsequently produced before a court in Raipur and remanded to police custody for two days.

The case was handed over to the CBI after the Chhattisgarh government transferred 13 FIRs registered at police stations across the state. The agency has since taken over the cases and filed eight chargesheets against 100 accused persons, a group that includes the app's main promoters, panel operators, hawala operators and public servants.

Investigators said efforts are continuing to trace other accused who are absconding. The agency is also working to bring the main promoters of the app back to India to stand trial. Seven Red Corner Notices and two extradition proposals have been sent so far, and extradition proceedings against two accused are currently underway, officials added.