RAIPUR: In a major relief for former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, a special CBI court in Raipur on Tuesday dismissed all charges against him in connection with a sex CD tape that purportedly featured former BJP minister Rajesh Munat.
The court heard the plea from the ex-CM seeking to absolve him in the row. The lawyer defending Baghel, Manish Dutt, told the court that he had been framed. “The former CM was not involved in any crime, neither in making of the CD nor in its alleged distribution,” he pleaded before the court.
When the CD surfaced in 2017, the ruling BJP, citing it as "fake", had lodged an FIR against senior journalist Vinod Verma (who later became a political advisor to Baghel after he became CM) and the then state Congress chief Baghel at Raipur civil lines thana. Verma was arrested from Delhi. Baghel was also arrested in September 2018 and later was granted bail.
“After the hearing, the court observed there is no material seen on record to show the involvement of the former CM in the given case. So, no case stands against Bhupesh Baghel and he was cleared of all charges,” said Sushil Anand Shukla, chairman, Congress Media Cell.
Baghel immediately took to X after the court order and posted, “Satyamev Jayate”.
Baghel was accused under IPC Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy), Section 469 (forgery for harming reputation), Section 471 (genuine a forged document) and Section 67A of IT Act that stipulates punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act
The then Raman Singh government alleged that the sex CD case was a political conspiracy and decided to hand over the case to the CBI.