Dubai police dramatically nabbed Ravi Uppal in December 2023 based on an Interpol Red Corner Notice, igniting high expectations of a quick extradition to India amid the explosive Rs 6,000-crore Mahadev betting app scandal. Held for 45 days before release under strict surveillance, the case seemed on track for justice—until everything unraveled in a cloud of mystery.

Fast-forward to November 2025, and Uppal has shockingly gone "missing" after slipping out of the UAE to a secret destination, with all extradition efforts abruptly frozen. Indian authorities point fingers at missing documents causing the delay, while the Enforcement Directorate fiercely counters that every required paper was filed perfectly on schedule, leaving the truth shrouded in diplomatic fog.

Uppal's clever use of a Vanuatu passport adds a sinister layer—the remote South Pacific nation has no extradition treaty with India, and sources reveal he and his accomplice snapped up properties there as a calculated escape plan to expand their shadowy empire. Meanwhile, partner Sourabh Chandrakar lingers under house arrest in Dubai since his December 2024 arrest, with India's extradition pleas gathering dust and no signs of movement.

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The infamous Mahadev app, launched in 2018, was a money-making monster churning out Rs 200 crore in profits every single day through a vast web of 3,200 betting panels nationwide. It employed around 3,500 people in Dubai hubs alone, plus call centers scattered across Chhattisgarh in India, as well as Malaysia and Thailand, all greased by routine bribes to police, bureaucrats, and politicians to stay undetected.

This audacious disappearance delivers a crushing setback to the ED's intense investigation, exposing cracks in international cooperation and allowing the betting syndicate's elusive masterminds to evade capture once again—while political fallout, including allegations of Rs 508 crore payoffs to former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel (vehemently denied by him), continues to simmer.

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