RAIPUR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out fresh searches at the residence of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in Bhilai, Durg district, as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation linked to an alleged liquor scam involving his son, Chaitanya Baghel, official sources said.
The raids were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the agency reportedly received new evidence against Chaitanya Baghel, who is under investigation in the case. A heavy police presence was seen outside the residence, which both father and son share, while some Congress supporters gathered at the site.
This is not the first such action—similar ED raids targeting Chaitanya Baghel were conducted earlier on March 10.
Reacting to the development, Bhupesh Baghel posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the ED’s visit coincided with the final day of the state assembly’s monsoon session. He noted that the session was expected to address the felling of trees for a coal mining project in Tamnar tehsil of Raigarh, linked to the Adani Group.
“Today is the last day of the assembly session. The issue of tree felling for Adani in Tamnar was to be raised. Saheb has sent ED to Bhilai Niwas,” his office posted.
Earlier this month, Baghel had visited Tamnar to express solidarity with local villagers protesting the tree cutting for the coal project. The mine in question is allotted to the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Ltd (MAHAGENCO), which has contracted the Adani Group as the mine developer and operator (MDO).
According to the ED, Chaitanya Baghel is suspected to have received proceeds from the alleged liquor scam, which reportedly caused a loss of over ₹2,100 crore to the state exchequer. The agency claims the money enriched a liquor syndicate operating between 2019 and 2022, during the Congress-led government under Bhupesh Baghel.
In connection with the case, the ED has so far arrested several individuals, including former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma; Anwar Dhebar, elder brother of Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar; ex-IAS officer Anil Tuteja; and Indian Telecom Service officer Arunpati Tripathi. Assets worth approximately ₹205 crore have also been attached.
Initially, the ED’s first ECIR (equivalent to an FIR) was based on an Income Tax Department complaint, but it was quashed by the Supreme Court in 2024. The agency later sought a fresh FIR from the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing (EOW)/Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which was filed on January 17, 2024—about a month after the BJP ousted the Congress government in the 2023 state elections.
That FIR named 70 individuals and entities, including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma and ex-chief secretary Vivek Dhand.
The ED alleges that proceeds from the illicit liquor sales were distributed “as per directions from the highest political executives of the state.”
