Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday dismissed reports that his son, Chaitanya Baghel, had been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged liquor scam.
As media gathered outside the Baghel residence in Bhilai and the ED office in Raipur, speculation ran high over Chaitanya’s appearance before the agency. However, Bhupesh Baghel was quick to refute the claims.
‘No summons, no appearance’
Speaking to reporters outside his Bhilai home, the senior Congress leader said, “If he hasn’t received a notice, where is the question of going to the ED office?” He added that any summons, if issued, would be duly complied with.
Baghel accused the ED of working at the behest of the BJP, stating, “It is ED’s work to create media hype… They have been using the agency to defame people. There was a CD case against me for seven years, and recently, the court discharged me of all charges. This is just another BJP conspiracy.”
Raids, cash seizures, and political backlash
On March 10, the ED had raided Baghel’s residence in Bhilai as part of its probe into a money laundering case linked to the alleged liquor scam. The agency also searched 13 other locations, including those of Laxmi Narayan Bansal, an alleged close associate of Chaitanya Baghel.
During the eight-hour-long operation, officials reportedly seized Rs 30 lakh in cash and documents. The Congress, in retaliation, burned effigies of the BJP-led central government and the ED in protest against what it called “political vendetta.”
The alleged scam
According to the ED, the Chhattisgarh liquor scam operated between 2019 and 2022, during Baghel’s tenure as CM, and caused a “massive loss” to the state exchequer. The agency claims a liquor syndicate siphoned off over Rs 2,100 crore in proceeds of crime.
