Ex-CM Baghel’s son got Rs 250 crore as share from Chhattisgarh liquor scam

Chaitanya, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, received Rs 200 crore to Rs 250 crore as his share from an alleged liquor scam in the State, the Anti- Corruption Bureau/Economic Offence Wing (ACB/EOW) has claimed in its chargesheet. The state police’s ACB/EOW, in its seventh supplementary chargesheet in the multi-crore liquor scam filed before a special court here on Monday, claimed Chaitanya Baghel played a key role in establishing, coordinating, and protecting an extortion racket (syndicate) within the excise department (during the previous Congress Government, which was in office from 2018-23).

The voluminous document, which runs into around 3,800 pages, has named Chaitnaya Baghel as an accused in the alleged scam pegged at more than Rs 3,000 crore, an ACB/EOW statement said. With this, a total of eight chargesheets have been filed in the case so far. The latest chargesheet details the current status of the investigation against the accused already arrested, along with digital evidence reports pertaining to all those in custody. The document also outlines the progress of the ongoing probe against the accused persons.

The statement quoting the chargesheet said Chaitanya Baghel acted as coordinator among officials such as Anil Tuteja, Soumya Chaurasia, Arunpati Tripathi, and Niranjan Das, who worked in line with the syndicate’s interests at the administrative level and as ground-level operatives of the network, such as Anwar Dhebar, Arvind Singh, and Vikas Agarwal (all co-accused), and issued instructions to them.

Chaitanya Baghel worked through his trusted associates to transfer and manage proceeds of the scam collected by businessman Anwar Dhebar’s team, moving the funds to higher levels, it claimed. He allegedly received his share of the proceeds through various firms belonging to liquor businessman Trilok Singh Dhillon, transferring it through banking channels to his family firms and using it in real estate projects.

Furthermore, he was found to have received and invested large sums of money generated out of the scam through banking channels via his family members, friends, and associates, the chargesheet claimed.

The probe agency 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 revealed that high-level protection, policy/administrative intervention, and influence provided to the syndicate by Chaitanya Baghel enabled this crime to be perpetrated for a long period, it claimed.

“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,” it added. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing money laundering angle in the alleged scam, arrested Chaitanya Baghel on July 18 following a search at his house, which he shares with his father, a Congress politician, in Bhilai town of Durg district.

As per the ED’s prosecution complaint (chargesheet) filed earlier, Chaitanya Baghel “handled” more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of “proceeds of crime” generated from a liquor “scam” in the state. The central agency has said the alleged scam resulted in a “massive loss” to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate.

The scam was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when CM Bhupesh Baghel headed the Congress Government in Chhattisgarh. Money was “illegally” collected from “every” bottle of liquor sold in Chhattisgarh (between 2019-2022), said the anti-money laundering agency. Chaitanya Baghel was arrested by the ACB/EOW in September while he was in jail under judicial custody. The ED in January arrested former excise minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma, besides businessman Anwar Dhebar (brother of Congress leader and former Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar), former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi and some others as part of their investigations in the case.

The EOW/ACB registered an FIR on January 17, 2024, in the alleged scam, naming 70 individuals and companies, including Lakhma and former chief secretary Vivek Dhand. After his son was arrested, former CM Baghel claimed the action was taken because the Congress, during its rule, tried to stop the cutting of forests and mining activities in the state. The Congress leader also alleged that probe agencies were being misused to target Opposition leaders.