Raipur: Anti-Corruption Bureau and Economic Offence Wing [ACB/EOW] of Chhattisgarh on September 24 arrested Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister [CM] Bhupesh Baghel.
Chaitanya who was already in jail was taken into custody by EOW in connection with the alleged multi-crore liquor scam. Chaitanya along with another accused Dipen Chawda was arrested and produced before a special court of Raipur which subsequently remanded them in EOW custody till October 6.
This comes after a special court of Raipur rejected the anticipatory bail petitions of Chaitanya Baghel.
Chaitanya’s counsel Faisal Rizvi, however alleged that his client was arrested as part of a pressure tactic and he was not named as an accused in the main and supplementary chargesheet filed by the ACB/EOW.
Enforcement Directorate [ED] on July 18 arrested Chaitanya Baghel in connection with the multi-crore scam. The agency following his arrest claimed, that Chaitanya received PoC worth Rs 16.70 crore.
“Chaitanya allegedly routed the illicit funds through his real estate firms and used them in the development of a real estate project. The funds were laundered through cash payments to contractors and through falsified banking entries,” ED had said in its statement.
In its prosecution complaint filed before the court on September 15, ED had alleged that Chaitanya was in helm of the ‘syndicate’ behind Rs 2100 crore liquor scam.
The agency in its chargesheet had accused Chaitanya for handling nearly Rs 1000 crore worth of ‘proceeds of crime’ [PoC] generated allegedly from the said liquor scam.
This was the fourth chargesheet filed by ED in connection with the scam that according to the agency flourished in Chhattisgarh in the tenure of the previous Congress government headed by former CM Bhupesh Baghel. The agency had also submitted digital evidences and other proofs along with the chargesheet.
Chhattisgarh liquor scam case
The multi-crore liquor scam, according to ED, resulted in a massive loss to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries with more than Rs 2,100 crore in PoC generated by the commission of scheduled offences.
The agency arrested several prominent figures in the case, including former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Arvind Singh, Trilok Singh Dhillon, Arun Pati Tripathi (ITS), and Anwar Dhebar.
Senior Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma was also arrested by ED in connection with the case. Lakhma, a former Excise Minister and sitting MLA from Bastar was arrested by the agency in January this year. He is currently lodging at the Raipur Central Jail.
As per ED, Lakhma used to “receive” a substantial amount in cash on a monthly basis out of PoC generated from the said liqour scam.
EOW registered a separate First Information Report [FIR] in connection with the case naming as many as 70 people in January last year. The agency has already submitted multiple chargesheets before the court.
EOW attaches Soumya Chourasia’s properties worth Rs 8 crore
In a related development, EOW attaches properties of Saumaya Chaurasia, former deputy secretary to ex-Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.
Chauraisa an accused in the alleged coal levy scam was named by EOW in a disproportionate asset case. The agency has attached 16 immovable properties of Chaurasia worth Rs 8 core which she required allegedly through benami transactions. The action was taken following a court order.
Chaurasia, a former state administrative official was arrested by ED in connection with the alleged multi crore coal levy scam in December 2022. The now suspended official was released from jail in May this year after she was granted a conditional bail by Supreme Court, following his re-arrest by EOW.
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