The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has submitted a new chargesheet in a Chhattisgarh court in connection with a multi-crore liquor scam. The agency has accused Chaitanya, son of Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, of managing over ₹1,000 crore as “proceeds of crime.”
The supplementary chargesheet of 7,039 pages was filed in the court of the 6th District and Additional Sessions Judge Damarudhar Chouhan in Raipur. Chaitanya Baghel, a businessman, has been named as an accused in the case. The alleged liquor scam, worth ₹2,100 crore, took place during the Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel from 2018 to 2023.
ED lawyer Saurabh Kumar Pande told the media that the chargesheet was filed before the special court with Chaitanya Baghel listed as an accused. This is the fourth chargesheet filed by the ED in this case. “A hard disk containing digital evidence and other documents was submitted along with the chargesheet,” he added.
According to the ED, Chaitanya Baghel managed over ₹1,000 crore from the scam and used a part of it to fund his business ventures. Pande said the agency found “strong” evidence that he used around ₹22 crore from the proceeds of crime.
Chaitanya Baghel was arrested in July
Chaitanya Baghel was arrested on July 18 after the ED conducted a search of his house in Bhilai, which he shares with his father in Durg district. Earlier, the ED stated that he used ₹16.7 crore from the scam proceeds to support his real estate projects. “Chaitanya received proceeds of crime worth ₹16.70 crore and used his real estate companies to mix these funds. The money was then used for the development of his real estate projects,” the agency said.
Earlier, Bhupesh Baghel had claimed that central agencies were being used against opposition leaders but said he trusted the judiciary and would cooperate in the investigation.
Divert attention from illegal tree felling”
The former CM also said the ED’s action against his son aimed to divert attention from illegal tree cutting for coal mining in the state, which Congress was about to raise in the Assembly. The financial crime agency stated that the scam caused a huge loss to the state’s treasury while benefiting liquor syndicate members with over ₹2,100 crore.
The ED said the scam took place between 2019 and 2022 when Congress ruled the state. In January, the agency arrested former minister Kawasi Lakhma, Anwar Dhebar, ex-IAS officer Anil Tuteja, ITS officer Arunpati Tripathi, and others as part of its investigation. The Chhattisgarh police’s EOW/ACB had filed an FIR on January 17 last year, shortly after BJP defeated Congress in the 2023 Assembly elections, naming 70 people and companies, including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma and ex-chief secretary Vivek Dhand. The agency claimed the illegal liquor proceeds were distributed under instructions from the highest political leaders of the state.
Who is Chaitnaya Baghel?
Chaitanya Baghel is the son of Bhupesh Baghel and managed the family’s vegetable farm. He was also involved in real estate but kept away from politics. Party sources said Chaitanya was expected to enter politics between 2018 and 2023, when his father was CM, but the plan did not happen for unknown reasons.
