Mahadev Book founders Ravi Uppal and Sourabh Chandrakar surface in Dubai, Vanuatu and Oman after India arrest requests

The ownership story behind Mahadev Book, described in Indian media as the largest iGaming product aimed at India, has turned into a cross-border extradition mess. For payment and gambling operators, the point is not just who ran the business, but how quickly founders can move between jurisdictions, passports, and enforcement gaps once the money and attention get too large.

1. Ravi Uppal and Sourabh Chandrakar were arrested in Dubai, UAE, after a request went through India’s Interpol CIB, the Central Investigation Bureau. One was detained in late 2023, the other in 2024.
2. Their extradition to India was initially expected to take only a few days, but the process stalled after it emerged that both had obtained island-state passports, reportedly from Vanuatu, and had renounced Indian citizenship.
3. At one point, one of them spent time in an immigration jail, but both were later released on the condition that they could not leave Dubai until the extradition process was completed. In early this year, both disappeared from the UAE, and the authorities did not explain how.
4. The case resurfaced in Indian media after CIB agents arrested Abhishek Kumar at Hyderabad airport after he arrived on a flight from Dubai. Other reports said he was deported. Media outlets describe him as one of the leading C-level managers at Mahadev Book.
5. The latest update also clarified the founders’ whereabouts: Ravi Uppal reached Vanuatu, where he had previously obtained citizenship, while Sourabh Chandrakar was detained in Oman in June after arriving on a fake Indonesian passport. He is now back in custody and fighting extradition to India.

The trigger for the Mahadev Book fallout was Chandrakar himself, according to the original reporting. Indian press coverage links the escalation to his wedding, where celebrities and other glamour figures were flown in on a fleet of private jets, followed by days of headlines, political pressure, and a federal-level investigation.