Court sends Chaitanya Baghel, son of ex-Chhattisgarh CM, to judicial custody in liquor 'scam'

Raipur: A special court here on Tuesday remanded Chaitanya Baghel, son of senior Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, in a 14-day judicial custody in a money laundering case linked to the alleged liquor scam.

Chaitanya was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 18 following a search at his house which he shares with his father in Bhilai town of Durg district in the state.

The accused was produced before the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (VI) Damarudhar Chouhan on Tuesday on expiry of his ED custody, the central probe agency's counsel Saurabh Kumar Pande told reporters.

During his custodial remand, Chaitanya was interrogated and confronted with statements and documents during which he conceded at many points. There was not much left for interrogation so the ED requested the court for his judicial custody, he said.

The court sent him to jail in judicial custody till August 4, he added.

If required, he can be questioned by the agency with the court's permission, he said.

The ED claimed in a statement that Chaitanya "handled" more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of "proceeds of crime" generated from a liquor "scam" in the state and used Rs 16.7 crore for the development of his real estate project.

"Chaitanya was in receipt of proceeds of crime worth Rs 16.70 crore. He had used his real estate firms to intermingle the said funds. It was found that he had utilised the said cash amount (proceeds of crime) in development of his real estate project," it said.

His father Bhupesh Baghel has alleged that central agencies were being misused to target the opposition leaders, but stressed that he trusted the judiciary and would cooperate.

The former CM has alleged that the ED action against his son was initiated to divert attention from the "illegal tree felling" for coal mines in the state as the Congress was set to raise the issue in the state assembly last week.

The Congress on Tuesday staged "chakka jam" (road blockade) in different parts of the state to protest against the ED's action.

The ED has said that the alleged 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 "scam" in the state, according to the ED, was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was governed by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.

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

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

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".