The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a fresh chargesheet in a high-profile ₹2,100-crore liquor scam case in Chhattisgarh, naming Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, as a key accused. The 7,039-page supplementary prosecution complaint, submitted to the court of 6th District and Additional Sessions Judge Damarudhar Chouhan in Raipur, alleges that Chaitanya "handled" over ₹1,000 crore in illicit proceeds from the scam.
The alleged scam, which unfolded between 2019 and 2022 under the Congress-led government headed by Bhupesh Baghel, is said to have caused significant financial losses to the state while enriching a liquor syndicate. The ED claims Chaitanya, a businessman, funneled ₹16.7 crore of these proceeds into his real estate ventures, with evidence of ₹22 crore directly linked to his activities. A hard disk containing digital evidence was submitted alongside the chargesheet, according to ED counsel Saurabh Kumar Pande.
Chaitanya was arrested on July 18 after a search at his Bhilai residence, which he shares with his father. This marks the ED’s fourth prosecution complaint in the case, which has already seen arrests of prominent figures, including former minister Kawasi Lakhma, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, and Indian Telecom Service officer Arunpati Tripathi.
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The ED alleges the scam involved illegal liquor sales, with commissions distributed under the direction of top political figures in the state. The agency claims the syndicate pocketed over ₹2,100 crore, causing a "massive loss" to Chhattisgarh’s exchequer.
Former CM Bhupesh Baghel has dismissed the ED’s actions as politically motivated, accusing central agencies of targeting opposition leaders to deflect from issues like illegal tree felling for coal mines, which the Congress planned to raise in the state Assembly. He has expressed faith in the judiciary and pledged cooperation with the investigation.
The case gained momentum after the BJP’s victory over Congress in the 2023 assembly elections. The Chhattisgarh police’s Economic Offences Wing and Anti-Corruption Bureau filed an FIR in January 2024, naming 70 individuals and companies, including Lakhma and former chief secretary Vivek Dhand.
As the investigation deepens, the liquor scam continues to cast a shadow over Chhattisgarh’s political landscape, with the ED’s latest chargesheet intensifying scrutiny on the Baghel family and their associates.
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