The chargesheets come amid India's efforts to repatriate Chandrakar from Oman, where he was detained early last month, they said.
Officials said the agency has kept the probe open to "unearth the full spread of this syndicate as well as its political and bureaucratic patronage." On Wednesday, the CBI filed five chargesheets against 66 accused, including Chandrakar, Uppal and members of betting syndicate panels through whom the proceeds of crime were channelled, officials said.
The agency had invoked sections of the Indian Penal Code and The Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2022, in these five chargesheets.
It filed a sixth chargesheet related to corruption linked to the betting syndicate, naming Ashim Das, Rohit Gulati, Vikas Chhaparia, Anil Dhammani, Vishal Ahuja and Dheeraj Ahuja as accused for offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the offences of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, officials said.
"The CBI has also filed additional evidence against the kingpins Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, as well as others who were chargesheeted earlier," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.
The Mahadev app was one of the largest illegal betting syndicates in India run from foreign soil, the spokesperson said, adding that Chandrakar and Uppal built the app into a nationwide network that reached millions of users through social media platforms.
"The CBI probe has shown that the syndicate allegedly operated illegal betting 'panels' across the country, enrolling users and running games and betting markets, and generating illegal profits that were then laundered through a web of mule accounts and finally transferred abroad," the spokesperson said.
Part of this illegal money was used to bribe public servants as "protection money", the CBI said.
"Investigation has revealed that promoters of the Mahadev app and several of their associates had absconded to West Asian countries a few years ago and continued to operate this network from outside India," the spokesperson said.
The CBI has issued Interpol Red Notices against four accused currently living abroad.
"Action to get them declared as Fugitive Economic Offenders has also been initiated," the agency said.
"We are continuing the investigation to unearth the full spread of this syndicate, as well as its political and bureaucratic patronage, and to bring all other accused persons involved to justice. More chargesheets will be filed in future," the spokesperson said.
Chandrakar, a Chhattisgarh resident in his 30s, was detained by the Royal Oman Police a few weeks ago, after an Interpol Red Notice was issued against him by Indian probe agencies.
The Mahadev app operated as a large-scale international betting syndicate that facilitated alleged illegal betting on multiple online platforms and domain names such as "Tiger Exchange", "Gold365" and "Laser247".
The operation was structured through a franchise-based network of "panels" and "branches" operated by associates across India, while the main promoters, Chandrakar and Uppal, operated and controlled the betting syndicate from Dubai, according to a federal probe agency.
