RaipurSeptember 16, 2025 06:49 PM IST
First published on: Sep 16, 2025 at 06:49 PM IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday submitted its supplementary prosecution complaint in connection with the alleged Rs 2,161-crore Chhattisgarh liquor scam, in which the agency has accused Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, of personally handling Rs 1,000 crore of the proceeds.
“It has been established that Chaitanya Baghel personally handled around Rs 1,000 crore generated from the liquor scam. He knowingly assisted in the concealment, possession, acquisition and use of proceeds of crime, acting in conspiracy with other members of the syndicate,” the ED’s prosecution complaint stated.
The agency’s allegations are based on a statement made by one Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu Bansal, who told the ED that he had handled Rs 1,000 crore generated from the alleged scam in association with Chaitanya.
Chaitanya was arrested by the ED on July 18 from his Bhilai residence and is currently in jail. It is alleged that the liquor scam took place between 2019 and 2022 during the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government’s tenure.
According to the agency, a syndicate of senior state bureaucrats, politicians and excise department officials ran a “parallel” excise department, wherein liquor was sold to the public but no money came to the state exchequer, causing the government a loss of Rs 2,161 crore.
“To run the day-to-day operations of this syndicate, retired IAS officer Anil Tuteja and Aijaz Dhebar (brother of former Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Ejaz Dhebar) were chosen as the front faces. They managed operational and administrative aspects of the syndicate, ensuring its smooth functioning,” the prosecution complaint stated.
Alleging that Chaitanya was at the “apex of the syndicate”, the ED said that his role was not “just symbolic but commanding and decisive.” “He (Chaitanya) was responsible for maintaining the ‘hisab’ (accounts) of all illicit funds collected by the syndicate,” the ED said, adding that Rs 18.9 crore of the ill-gotten money was layered into Chaitanya’s real estate project. The agency said it has submitted digital evidence and witness statements to corroborate its allegations, apart from relying on WhatsApp chats of Saumya Chaurasia (former deputy secretary in the CMO), Dhebar, Chaitanya and other accused.
“Bansal also told us that a large amount of cash was delivered to the treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Congress on Chaitanya’s instructions,” the ED said. Agarwal, another accused in the case, is currently absconding.
Chaitanya’s lawyer Faisal Rizvi told The Indian Express that the ED was relying on the statement of Bansal, against whom a permanent warrant had been issued by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in May. “In the first week of June, the ED recorded his statement and, based on it, arrested Chaitanya. Such a person (Bansal) can say anything to save himself. He is neither a witness nor has the ED named him as an accused,” Rizvi said, questioning how much WhatsApp chats will be admissible in court.
Bhupesh Baghel has claimed that his son’s arrest is “politically motivated” because he opposed the Adani coal mining project in Raigarh. “This is happening because I and my party raised the issue of trees being felled,” Baghel said, alleging that Adani’s people cut down 5,000 trees overnight in the presence of forest officials.
Baghel also criticised the agencies and claimed that while a court has issued a non-bailable warrant against Bansal, he continues to roam freely and give statements to different offices. “It is understandable how these agencies, the government and the BJP respect the court,” he added.
