Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam: Ex Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's Son Arrested

Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam: Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's Son Arrested

Attorney Faisal Rizvi claimed Chaitanya Baghel was detained without substantial evidence.

Raipur:

The Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offences Wing (ACB/EOW) detained Chaitanya Baghel, the son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, along with another suspect related to the alleged liquor scam on Wednesday, according to officials.

Chaitanya had been under judicial custody in prison since his apprehension by the Enforcement Directorate on July 18.

ACB/EOW officials brought Chaitanya to court after securing his production warrant.

Chaitanya and another accused individual, Dipen Chawda, were arrested in connection with the "liquor scam" and presented before a special court (Prevention of Corruption Act) in Raipur, which placed them in ACB/EOW custody until October 6, as stated in an agency release.

The ACB/EOW has been investigating both corruption and criminal aspects of the case registered in January last year.

The alleged liquor scandal, valued at over Rs 2,500 crore, reportedly occurred between 2019 and 2022 when the Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel was in power.

Chaitanya's attorney, Faisal Rizvi, alleged that the arrest occurred without evidence as a pressure tactic.

In the primary chargesheet and multiple supplementary charge sheets filed thus far (by the ACB/EOW), Chaitanya has not been mentioned in any of them. Approximately 45 individuals were named as accused in those charge sheets, but 29 of them were never arrested, he noted.

"Following the Chhattisgarh High Court's rejection of Chaitanya's anticipatory bail application, he was arrested by the ACB/EOW. The basis for arrest presented to the special court by EOW is the statement of one accused, Laxmi Narayan Bansal, concerning Rs 1,000 crore (proceeds of crime). The crucial point is that Chaitanya's name does not appear in any of the charge sheets," the lawyer emphasized.

The same special court has issued a warrant against Bansal, he added.

The Enforcement Directorate, in its fourth supplementary prosecution complaint (charge sheet) submitted to the special court in Raipur on September 15, alleged that Chaitanya was at the center of the syndicate behind the "liquor scam" in Chhattisgarh and personally managed nearly Rs 1,000 crore generated from it.

The ED also claimed that Chaitanya knowingly assisted in hiding, possessing, acquiring, and utilizing proceeds of crime, working in conspiracy with other syndicate members.

The ACB/EOW filed an FIR on January 17, 2024, regarding the "liquor scam," nearly a month after the BJP defeated Congress in the assembly elections. It named 70 individuals and companies, including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma and ex-chief secretary Vivek Dhand.

According to the ED, the syndicate collected commission on both the sale of accounted official liquor and unaccounted illegal liquor, while also demanding bribes from main distillers to operate in Chhattisgarh, allowing them to form a cartel and divide the market share among themselves.

The investigation suggests that the entire proceeds of crime were being collected and appropriated by officials and those in charge of the then-ruling party in the state, Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, the ED alleged.

As part of their investigation, the ED had arrested former excise minister and current Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma, along with Anwar Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi, and several others.

The ED arrested Chaitanya on July 18 following a search at his residence in Bhilai town of Durg district, which he shares with his father.