ED Names Bhupesh Baghel’s Son in Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam
Agency alleges Chaitanya Baghel handled over Rs 1,000 crore “proceeds of crime” in Rs 2,100-crore scam
Raipur: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed a supplementary charge sheet in the alleged Rs 2,100 crore liquor scam naming the son of former chief minister Bhupel Baghel, in whose regime the scandal took place, as an accused.
The 7,039-page supplementary prosecution complaint (charge sheet), filed in the court of sixth district and additional sessions judge Damarudhar Chouhan, alleged that Mr. Baghel’s son Chaitanya handled Rs 1,000 crore worth of ‘proceeds of crime’.
Junior Baghel was arrested on July 18 after a search in his house in Bhilai in Durg district in the state by the ED.
“The prosecution complaint was filed in the special court, in which Chaitanya Baghel was named as an accused”, ED counsel Sourav Kumar Pandey told the media.
This was the fourth prosecution complaint filed by the ED in the case.
Junior Baghel handled more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of proceeds of crime generated from a liquor ‘scam’ in the state and used proceeds of crime for development of his business ventures, Mr. Pandey said.
According to the ED counsel, a hard disc containing digital evidence and other proofs were submitted along with the prosecution complaint in the court.
The ED has found evidence of use of around Rs 22 crore of proceeds of crime by him in his business, Mr. Pandey said.
The ED had claimed in a statement issued earlier that “Chaitanya was in receipt of proceeds of crime worth Rs 16.70 crore. He had used his real estate firms to intermingle the said funds. He had utilized the money in the development of his real estate project”.
Meanwhile, the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Chhattisgarh police on Monday sought the remand of Junior Baghel for seven days in connection with the alleged scandal.
The court reserved its order for Tuesday.
The ED in January this year arrested former minister and tribal Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma in connection with the alleged scam.
He was excise minister in the previous Bhupesh Baghel cabinet.
