The ACB/EOW has alleged in its chargesheet that Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, received Rs 200–250 crore from the liquor scam. The agency claims he played a key role in managing and protecting the syndicate during the Congress government’s tenure.
Raipur: In a major development in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam case, the Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offence Wing (ACB/EOW) has claimed that Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, received between Rs 200 crore and Rs 250 crore as his share from the alleged liquor scam.
According to the state police’s ACB/EOW, this allegation has been made in the seventh supplementary chargesheet filed before a special court in Raipur on Monday.
The agency has stated that Chaitanya Baghel played a key role in setting up, coordinating and protecting an extortion syndicate operating within the excise department during the previous Congress government’s tenure from 2018 to 2023.
The chargesheet, which runs into around 3,800 pages, has named Chaitanya Baghel as an accused in the liquor scam, which is estimated to be worth more than Rs 3,000 crore, an official ACB/EOW statement said. With this filing, a total of eight chargesheets have now been submitted in the case.
The latest chargesheet provides details about the current status of the investigation against arrested accused persons and includes digital evidence reports related to those already in custody. It also outlines the progress of the ongoing investigation against other accused individuals.
Quoting the chargesheet, the ACB/EOW said that Chaitanya Baghel acted as a coordinator between senior officials and ground-level operatives of the syndicate.
These officials allegedly included Anil Tuteja, Soumya Chaurasia, Arunpati Tripathi and Niranjan Das, who worked at the administrative level, while ground operatives included Anwar Dhebar, Arvind Singh and Vikas Agarwal, all of whom are co-accused.
The chargesheet claims that Chaitanya Baghel issued instructions to them and ensured smooth functioning of the network.
The probe agency further alleged that Chaitanya Baghel worked through his trusted associates to transfer and manage the proceeds of the scam collected by the team of liquor businessman Anwar Dhebar. These funds were allegedly moved to higher levels of the syndicate.
It has also been claimed that Chaitanya Baghel received his share of the alleged scam money through various firms belonging to liquor businessman Trilok Singh Dhillon. The money was allegedly transferred through banking channels to family-linked firms and later used in real estate projects.
The chargesheet further claims that he received and invested large amounts of money generated from the scam through banking channels using his family members, friends and associates.
The ACB/EOW said,
“Evidence indicates that Chaitanya, along with managing the proceeds of crime at a higher level, received around Rs 200 crore-Rs 250 crore as his share.”
The investigation has also found that the syndicate continued its operations for a long period due to alleged high-level protection, policy and administrative intervention, and influence provided by Chaitanya Baghel. According to the agency, this support enabled the crime to continue without interruption.
The chargesheet further stated,
“The ongoing investigation suggests the amount involved in the liquor scam is estimated to be approximately Rs 3,074 crore. However, further investigation suggests the total amount of the proceeds of crime generated out of the alleged scam could exceed Rs 3,500 crore”.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the money laundering aspect of the case, arrested Chaitanya Baghel on July 18 after conducting searches at his residence in Bhilai town of Durg district, where he lives with his father, a senior Congress leader.
As per the ED’s prosecution complaint filed earlier, Chaitanya Baghel allegedly “handled” more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of “proceeds of crime” generated from the liquor scam. The central agency has claimed that the alleged scam caused a “massive loss” to the state exchequer while benefiting members of a liquor syndicate.
The ED has alleged that the scam was carried out between 2019 and 2022, during the period when Bhupesh Baghel was serving as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. The agency claimed that money was “illegally” collected from “every” bottle of liquor sold in Chhattisgarh (between 2019-2022).
Chaitanya Baghel was later arrested by the ACB/EOW in September, while he was already in judicial custody in connection with the ED case.
Earlier this year, the ED arrested former excise minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma, liquor businessman Anwar Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi, and several others as part of its investigation into the alleged scam.
The ACB/EOW registered an FIR in the case on January 17, 2024, naming 70 individuals and companies, including Kawasi Lakhma and former Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand.
After his son’s arrest, former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel claimed that the action was politically motivated.
He alleged that the Congress government was targeted because it had tried to stop forest cutting and mining activities in the state. He also accused central probe agencies of being misused to target Opposition leaders.
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