IN A potentially explosive development in the alleged Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev Online Betting case, alleged kingpin Saurabh Chandrakar has conveyed to Omani authorities that he is willing to cooperate with Indian investigating agencies and disclose details of the alleged network, including purported beneficiaries such as politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh, if Indian authorities provide witness-protection arrangements for him and his family, sources familiar with the development told ‘The Hitavada’. Apart from protection, Chandrakar has reportedly sought safeguards before any transfer to India: security for himself and his immediate family, secure detention away from individuals allegedly linked to the network, judicial oversight of questioning, preservation of electronic and documentary evidence, an opportunity to record his statement before a competent court and protection against what he describes as political retaliation. An officer familiar with the investigation and in touch with Omani authorities over extradition proceedings said Chandrakar told the Royal Oman Police and Oman’s Public Prosecution that he has ‘no problem with the Government of India’ and is willing to cooperate with Indian agencies. He has, however, expressed apprehension over his safety inside an Indian prison, citing perceived life threats allegedly involving Chhattisgarh politicians and bureaucrats linked to the case. The self-initiated proposal has reached Indian authorities and is under examination. Chandrakar remains an accusedwanted by multiple agencies; any protection, detention or judicial safeguards would therefore require consideration by competent Indian authorities and courts and would not alter his status in pending proceedings.

 

The development comes against an extraordinary passport trail exposed in mid-July. Investigators said Chandrakar allegedly travelled to Oman on forged Indonesian passport E3387986 carrying his photograph but identifying him as ‘Ajanta Mendis’, an Indonesian national born on March 11, 1998. The alias differs by only one letter from Ajantha Mendis, the former Sri Lankan international mystery spinner. Officials stressed that the cricketer has no connection with the case. Investigators suspect the counterfeit passport was prepared in the United Arab Emirates nearly two years before Chandrakar’s detention and was among several forged travel documents allegedly available to him. They believe he used it to leave the UAE, where Indian agencies had tracked his movements, before the Royal Oman Police detained him after his alleged entry into Oman. The passport records underline the identity discrepancy: the Indonesian document portrays ‘Ajanta Mendis’ with Chandrakar’s photograph and 1998 birth date, while another passport record bearing his own name identifies him as Saurabh Chandrakar, born in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, on January 13, 1995. The alleged passport fraud triggered separate Omani criminal proceedings, potentially affecting India’s extradition timeline. Indian authorities are simultaneously examining whether deportation could become legally available depending upon Omani judicial findings concerning his travel documents and immigration status.

 

A group of around a dozen officials, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s nodal agency for extradition matters, coordinating with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), is pursuing legal and diplomatic options. The CBI had also coordinated transmission of judicial material through diplomatic channels. India is pursuing Chandrakar under the India-Oman Extradition Treaty signed in Muscat on December 26, 2004.