The Chhattisgarh Police has announced a reward of Rs 25,000 to anyone who provides vital information about Mahadev betting app promoter Sourabh Chandrakar, who is also being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on money laundering charges.
Sourabh Chandrakar along with co-promoter of the app, Ravi Uppal, were recently detained in Dubai on the basis of an Interpol red notice issued at the behest of the ED. The agency is trying to get them deported or extradited from the UAE to India.
The businessman, who hails from Bhilai town in Durg district, is wanted in several cases of gambling and cheating lodged at different police stations of the district, police said.
"Inspector general of police (Durg range) has announced a cash reward of Rs 25,000 for inputs leading to the arrest of Chandrakar. The identity of the informer will be kept secret," Durg Superintendent of Police (SP) Jitendra Shukla said.
Earlier, the Durg SP had announced a cash reward of Rs 10,000.
The Durg police had also issued a look out notice for arresting Chandrakar, he said and added that the move to announce the cash reward will strengthen the case against the accused.
Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal are stated to be the main promoters of the Mahadev app. They are accused of running illegal online betting and gaming.
The ED has alleged in its charge-sheet that Sourabh Chandrakar got married at Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, in February last year and about Rs 200 crore "in cash" was spent for this event.
Private jets were hired to ferry Sourabh Chandrakar's relatives from India to the UAE and celebrities were paid to perform at the wedding, the agency alleged. The projected proceeds of crime in this case are about Rs 6,000 crore, according to the ED.
The Mahadev online betting app is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
