The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, for allegedly handling over Rs 1,000 crore in proceeds from a liquor scam. He reportedly used Rs 16.7 crore to fund a real estate project. The ED claims the scam caused a Rs 2,100 crore loss to the exchequer.
Representational Image. File Pic
In a recent development by the Enforcement Directorate, Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, "handled" more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of "proceeds of crime." The money was generated from a liquor "scam" in the state. Former CM Baghel’s son used Rs 16.7 crore for the development of his real estate project, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged on Monday.
As reported by PTI, the businessman was arrested by the federal probe agency at his house in Bhilai's Mansarovar Colony on 18 July, his 38th birthday. The arrest of Chaitanya Baghel came after the agency raided the house.
On the same day when the ED raided Chaitanya’s house, where he resided with his father, he was sent to ED custody for five days by a Raipur court. Chaitanya Baghel is expected to be produced before the same court on Tuesday.
The agency, while addressing the issue, said that "Chaitanya Baghel 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 the development of his real estate project," as cited by news agency PTI.
On the contrary, senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has alleged that central agencies are being misused to target opposition leaders but stressed that he trusted the judiciary and would cooperate with them.
The former CM on Monday also alleged that the investigation against his son was initiated to divert attention from the "illegal tree felling" in the state, as the Congress was set to raise the issue in the Assembly.
The ED statement alleged that the proceeds were intended to be used for "payment in cash" to contractors of Chaitanya Baghel's project, as well as for bank entries against cash.
According to the agency, Chaitanya "colluded" with a local businessman named Trilok Singh Dhillon and "utilised" his companies to contrive a scheme through which he "indirectly" received Rs 5 crore in the form of the purchase of flats in his "Vitthalpuram Project" in the name of Dhillon's employees, as reported by PTI.
Officials from the Enforcement Directorate also stated that "there is a banking trail that indicates that during the relevant period of transactions, Trilok Singh Dhillon received payments from the liquor syndicate in his bank accounts," as per PTI.
The agency further alleged that Chaitanya Baghel "handled" more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of "proceeds of crime" generated out of the liquor scam.
"He used to coordinate with Anwar Dhebar (the elder brother of Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar) and others for the transfer of proceeds of crime to the then treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee," they added.
"The investigation conducted by the ED has revealed that the funds out of this liquor scam were also handed over to key associates of the Baghel family for further investments. The end utilisation of this fund is being probed further," it said, as reported by PTI.
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.
Earlier in January, the ED also 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.
(With PTI Inputs)
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