Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam': ED arrests Bhupesh Baghel's son Chaitanya

New Delhi: The son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in Chhattisgarh on Saturday in connection with a money laundering case linked to a liquor scam even as the Congress leader claimed that the action was part of attempt to target Opposition leaders.

Chaitanya Baghel was taken into custody after raids were conducted at his residence, where senior Baghel also stays, in Bhilai in Durg district. He was arrested under Section 19 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as he is accused of not cooperating during the searches that was carried out following claims of discovery of fresh evidence.

The senior Baghel said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier sent ED to his house on his birthday and now again sent it on his son's birthday. "We are not going to be cowed down by this. Congress was bringing an adjournment motion against tree felling for a coal mine project of the Adani Group. Modi-Shah has to keep their master happy and that is why this raid," he told reporters in Raipur.

The former Chief Minister had earlier this month extended support to local villagers who have been protesting against tree felling for the project, which is allotted to Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MAHAGENCO), which has contracted the MDO (mine developer cum operator) to the Adani Group.

The ED has claimed that Chaitanya was suspected to be the "recipient" of the proceeds from the alleged liquor scam. It has been said that the "scam" resulted in a "massive loss" to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate with over Rs 2,100 crore.

The EOW/ACB registered the FIR on January 17 last year, about a month after the BJP defeated the incumbent Congress government in the 2023 assembly polls, and named 70 individuals and companies, including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma, former chief secretary Vivek Dhand and others.

According to the ED, the alleged commission generated through the illegal sale of liquor was shared "as per the directions from the highest political executives of the state."

The alleged liquor scam in the central Indian state, according to the ED, was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was governed by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.

Assets worth about Rs 205 crore of various accused have been attached by the agency as part of this investigation so far. In 2024, the Supreme Court quashed the ED's first ECIR (FIR) in this case, which was based on a complaint from the Income Tax Department.

The federal agency later filed a fresh case after it asked the Chhattisgarh EOW/ACB to file a fresh FIR against the accused based on material shared by the anti-money laundering agency.

In this case, the ED in January arrested former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma besides Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi and some others as part of this investigation.

(With PTI inputs)