8 months ago
3
The Chhattisgarh ACB/EOW has arrested erstwhile Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's lad Chaitanya Baghel and different accused successful transportation with the alleged liquor scam, officials said.
Chaitanya has been successful judicial custody and lodged successful a jailhouse since his apprehension by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) connected July 18 successful transportation with a wealth laundering lawsuit linked to the alleged liquor scam.
On Wednesday (September 24, 2025), the Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offences Wing officials produced him successful a tribunal aft obtaining his accumulation warrant.
He and different accused, Dipen Chawda, were arrested successful transportation with the "liquor scam" and produced successful a peculiar tribunal (Prevention of Corruption Act) here, which remanded them successful the ACB/EOW custody till October 6, according to a merchandise issued by the agency.
The ACB/EOW has been probing the corruption and transgression angles successful the lawsuit registered past January.
The alleged liquor scam amounting to much than ₹2,500 crore was orchestrated betwixt 2019 and 2022 erstwhile the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress authorities was successful power.
Chaitanya's lawyer, Faisal Rizvi, alleged helium was arrested without immoderate grounds arsenic portion of a unit tactic.
In the main chargesheet and aggregate supplementary chargesheets filed truthful acold (by the ACB/EOW), Chaitanya has not been named successful immoderate of them. Around 45 persons were named arsenic accused successful those complaint sheets, but 29 of them were ne'er arrested, helium said.
"After the Chhattisgarh High Court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Chaitanya, helium was arrested by the ACB/EOW. The ground of apprehension enactment earlier the peculiar tribunal by EOW is the connection of 1 of the accused successful the case, Laxmi Narayan Bansal, related to ₹1,000 crore (proceeds of crime). The cardinal information is that Chaitanya's sanction has not been mentioned successful immoderate of the complaint sheets," the lawyer said.
The aforesaid peculiar tribunal has issued a warrant against Bansal, helium said.
The Enforcement Directorate, successful its 4th supplementary prosecution ailment (chargesheet) filed earlier the peculiar tribunal successful Raipur connected September 15, claimed Chaitanya was astatine the helm of the syndicate down the "liquor scam" successful Chhattisgarh and personally handled astir ₹1,000 crore generated from it.
The ED besides claimed Chaitanya knowingly assisted successful the concealment, possession, acquisition, and usage of proceeds of crime, acting successful conspiracy with different members of the syndicate.
The ACB/EOW registered an FIR connected January 17, 2024, successful the "liquor scam", astir a period aft the BJP defeated the Congress successful the assembly polls. It named 70 individuals and companies, including erstwhile excise curate Kawasi Lakhma and ex-Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand.
The syndicate, isolated from collecting committee connected the merchantability of accounted and authoritative liquor and the merchantability of unaccounted amerciable liquor, besides charged quid pro quo bribes from main distillers to run successful Chhattisgarh truthful that they tin signifier a cartel and disagreement the full marketplace stock among themselves, the ED had claimed.
The probe has suggested that the full proceeds of transgression were being collected and appropriated by the past officials and successful complaint of the past ruling enactment successful the State, Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, it alleged.
The ED had arrested erstwhile Excise Minister and incumbent Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma, too businessman Anwar Dhebar, erstwhile IAS serviceman Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) serviceman Arunpati Tripathi, and immoderate others arsenic portion of their investigations successful the case.
The ED arrested Chaitanya connected July 18 pursuing a hunt astatine his house, which helium shares with his begetter successful Bhilai municipality of Durg district.
