Bhupesh Baghel’s son Chaitanya ran syndicate, handled ₹1,000 cr of liquor scam proceeds: ED
Chaitanya Baghel was arrested on July 18 after a search at his Bhilai residence, which he shares with his father.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in its fourth supplementary charge sheet filed before the court on Monday, alleged that Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, headed the state’s liquor syndicate and personally managed nearly ₹1,000 crore in proceeds generated from it.
Chaitanya Baghel was arrested on July 18 after a search at his Bhilai residence, which he shares with his father.
The ED claimed that Chaitanya knowingly assisted in concealment, possession, acquisition and use of illicit funds, acting in conspiracy with other members of the syndicate.
The alleged ₹2,500-crore scam was carried out between 2019 and 2022 when the Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel was in power in Chhattisgarh.
The ED in its chargesheet claimed that an organised liquor syndicate was formed after the Congress came to power in 2019. Then IAS officer Anil Tuteja and businessman Anwar Dhebar were chosen as the front faces of its operations.
“At the apex of this syndicate stood Chaitanya, and his role was not just symbolic but commanding and decisive,” the ED alleged, adding that he maintained accounts of illicit funds and directed their collection and distribution.
The agency said Chaitanya layered proceeds of crime into his real estate ventures, including ₹18.90 crore in the ‘Vitthal Green’ project and ₹3.10 crore in M/s Baghel Developers and Associates.
In his statement, Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu told investigators he handled more than ₹1,000 crore of scam proceeds with Chaitanya. Bansal alleged that, on Chaitanya’s instructions, large amounts of cash were delivered to then state Congress treasurer Ram Gopal Agrawal and others between 2019 and 2022. Agrawal is currently absconding.
Bansal further claimed he collected funds from Anwar Dhebar via Dipen Chawda before delivering them to Agrawal in coordination with Chaitanya. He also said he had known Bhupesh Baghel for 25 years, shared family ties, and frequently visited the chief minister’s residence in Raipur with Chaitanya. During one such visit, Bhupesh Baghel allegedly told him that Dhebar would send “saamaan” (a code word for cash) for delivery to Agrawal.
The ED also cited WhatsApp chats recovered from accused persons’ mobile phones, which it said showed Chaitanya coordinating with Dhebar and then deputy secretary in the CMO, Saumya Chaurasia, for fund transfers, meetings and settlement of accounts.
The state’s Economic Offence Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau registered an FIR in the liquor scam on January 17 last year, naming 70 individuals and companies including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma and ex-chief secretary Vivek Dhand. The ED has since arrested Lakhma, Dhebar, Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service officer Arunpati Tripathi and others.
According to the agency, the syndicate collected commission on both accounted and unaccounted liquor sales, apart from bribes from distillers to operate in Chhattisgarh, enabling them to form a cartel and divide market share. The proceeds, it alleged, were appropriated by then officials and the state Congress leadership.
