Chhattisgarh liquor ‘scam’: Why ex-CM Bhupesh Baghel’s son, Chaitanya was arrested

About the liquor scam

The alleged liquor scam occurred between 2019 and 2022 under the Congress-led state government. A syndicate of senior state bureaucrats, politicians, and excise department officials stand accused of running 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.

The ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report ECIR in April 2024 following an FIR registered by Chhattisgarh’s Economic Offences Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau (EOW/ACB).

The prominent accused who have been named in the FIR and arrested in the liquor scam so far are former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma; Anwar Dhebar, who was the alleged mastermind of the scam and is the brother of former Raipur mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar; and bureaucrats retired IAS officer Anil Tuteja, then joint secretary in Chhattisgarh; and ITS Arun Pati Tripathi, then Special Secretary Government Commerce and Industry Department and MD, CG State Marketing Corporation Ltd.

Neither Bhupesh Baghel nor Chaitanya have been named in the FIR. However, the ED raided the former CM’s residence in Bhilai city, Durg, for the first time this March, to probe the duo’s possible links to the scam.

The ED’s charges against Chaitanya

According to the ED, Chaitanya was implicated in the statement of one of the former accused, Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu. Pappu claimed that he handled over Rs 1,000 crore in cash proceeds from the liquor scam in association with Chaitanya. According to Pappu, he would collect the funds from Anwar Dhebar through Dipen Chawda, then give them to former Congress treasurer Ram Gopal Agarwal, all while coordinating with Chaitanya. He also claimed he had given Rs 80-100 crore to KK Srivastava on Chaitanya’s orders.

The ED has also claimed that illegal money from the scam was used to build Chaitanya’s “Vitthal Green Project” through his company, Baghel Developers. A witness related to the project reportedly told the ED that the project’s cost was falsely undervalued as Rs 7.14 crore, instead of its actual cost of Rs 13-15 crore.

Further, one of the accused, Trilok Singh Dhillon, purportedly paid Baghel Developers Rs 5 crore to buy 19 flats for his employees. The ED has also alleged that one jeweller company, which has given an outstanding loan of Rs 4.5 crore to Chaitanya, had also bought six plots worth Rs 80 lakh from Baghel Developers.

“Thus, there are corroboratory reasons to believe that the funds so received by Chaitanya Baghel are against payment of cash to the proprietor of the Jeweller company, which is nothing but proceeds of crime,” said ED sources, adding that Chaitanya has received Rs 16.7 crores from the liquor scam.

Dubious charges, politically motivated: Chaitanya’s defence

Chaitanya’s lawyer Faisal Rizvi said the case has been ongoing since 2022, but his client’s name was never mentioned in the ED’s four prosecution complaints filed in court. He pointed out that the first raid at Chaitanya’s home happened on March 10 this year, yet no summons was ever issued to question him under the money laundering law.

The lawyer argued that Chaitanya was arrested based solely on statements from Pappu Bansal, against whom a non-bailable warrant was issued in May. “ED did not ask him even once whether Pappu Bansal’s allegations are true or not,” Rizvi said, questioning whether Bansal’s statement was obtained under pressure.

Meanwhile, former CM Bhupesh Baghel told the media that his son was arrested without any prior notice or inquiry. He claimed the arrest was politically motivated because he had opposed an Adani coal mining project in Raigarh district. “This is happening clearly 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, pointing out that while Pappu Bansal has a court-issued non-bailable warrant against him, he continues to roam freely and give statements to different offices. “It is understandable how these agencies, the government, and the people of the Bharatiya Janata Party respect the court,” he added.