Ravi Uppal, co-founder of Mahadev betting app, has fled from Dubai. The Supreme Court has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to trace and arrest him as soon as possible. Two years ago he was detained from Dubai and now he has fled from there. ED has expressed apprehension that Ravi Uppal may be in a country which does not have an extradition treaty with India.
According to PTI report, the court said that courts and investigating agencies cannot be allowed to become toys for those accused of white-collar crimes. Justice M.M. The bench of Sundaresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing the case. The bench expressed serious displeasure over Uppal evading the law and said, ‘This shocks the conscience of the court, now something has to be done.’ It is being told that Uppal has fled from Dubai, due to which the UAE government has stopped his extradition process.
The court said in a very harsh tone, ‘Courts and agencies are not toys for such criminals. ED should find and arrest him soon. The Supreme Court has made this comment while hearing Uppal’s petition. In the petition, Uppal has challenged the March 22 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court. The High Court had directed him to attend the hearing of the money laundering case in the lower court of Raipur.
Additional Solicitor General S.V. to present the ED’s side. Raju appeared. He told the court that Uppal was detained in Dubai in the year 2023 but now he has escaped from there. He said that such economic criminals often hide in countries with which India does not have an extradition treaty, such as the British Virgin Islands.
On the request of Uppal’s lawyer, the bench fixed the next hearing of the case for November 14. The court asked the lawyer to persuade Uppal to return to India and face the proceedings. Uppal was detained in Dubai in December 2023 on the basis of an Interpol notice, but was later released under observation. ED says that Uppal and his partner Saurabh Chandrakar had started Mahadev betting app in 2018, through which illegal online betting was done.
According to agencies, this scam is worth around Rs 6,000 crore and is spread across many states. Chandrakar was arrested in Dubai in October 2024 and his extradition request is still pending. This case was earlier with the Chhattisgarh Police, which had also made former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel an accused. Later the investigation was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).