Baghel alleged conspiracies aimed at associating him with scams, particularly those related to the “coal levy” and the Mahadev online betting app. The Enforcement Directorate has been investigating these scams, which surfaced during his previous tenure as chief minister.
Chhattisgarh: Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel writes a letter to the Chief Justice of India, Dhananjaya Chandrachud, to initiate a high-level judicial investigation into the operations of central and state investigative agencies in Chhattisgarh.
In a letter dated September 21, Baghel claimed that efforts were being made to falsely implicate him in the alleged scams under investigation. He expressed concerns that if the misuse of investigative agencies for “political vendetta” continues, it would instill fear among the state’s residents.
Baghel alleged conspiracies aimed at associating him with scams, particularly those related to the “coal levy” and the Mahadev online betting app. The Enforcement Directorate has been investigating these scams, which surfaced during his previous tenure as chief minister.
After the BJP assumed power following last year’s assembly elections, the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Economic Offences Wing (EOW) also filed separate cases concerning the same alleged scams. Baghel is one of 18 individuals named as accused in the EOW’s FIR.
Baghel stated in his letter,
“Throughout my five years in office, I strictly adhered to the Constitution and took immediate action whenever illegal or criminal cases came to my attention without hesitation.”
He added,
“I understand your busy schedule, but I feel compelled to write to you personally due to the ongoing unconstitutional situations being created in Chhattisgarh. A recent event has prompted this letter.”
Baghel then described a supposed meeting on September 8 between a senior IPS officer and businessman Suryakant Tiwari, a key accused in the alleged coal levy scam, during which the officer allegedly pressured Tiwari to name Baghel as a beneficiary of the scam. The Congress leader referenced a statement made by Tiwari in the district court.
“Upon learning of these conspiracies, I publicly rejected the baseless allegations on several occasions. However, the way my name, along with the names of my colleagues, associates, and supporters, was dragged into various money laundering cases before the elections last November made it evident that agencies like the ED have been acting under someone’s influence, conspiring to tarnish my reputation and that of my government for political gain during the elections,”
Baghel concluded.
Baghel further alleged that the state agencies ACB and EOW have now become part of the political conspiracy.
“The sole intent behind what has occurred and continues to unfold is to tarnish my reputation, subject me to false and malicious prosecution, and ultimately end my political career through these unfounded and illegal accusations,”
he stated.
Baghel called on the Chief Justice of India to intervene in order to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution with regard to the actions of both Central and state agencies in Chhattisgarh.
He also urged the CJI to initiate a high-level judicial inquiry into the role and operations of these agencies in the state.
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