RAIPUR: Enforcement Directorate (ED) team on Monday morning carried out an extensive raid at the residence of former Congress CM Bhupesh Baghel in Bhilai, about 30 km from Raipur, as part of a money laundering investigation against his son in the alleged liquor scam case, official sources said.
The premises of Bhupesh Baghel's son-- Chaitanya Baghel-- in Bhillai (Durg district), an alleged close associate of Chaitanya Baghel, Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu Bansal, and some others are also being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.
Chaitanya Baghel shares the Bhillai accommodation with his father and hence the premises are being covered.
He (Chaitanya Baghel) is suspected to the "recipient" of the proceeds of crime of the liquor scam, they said About 14-15 premises are being raided in the state, they said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier said the Chhattisgarh liquor "scam" resulted in "massive loss" to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate with more than Rs 2,100 crore of proceeds of crime.
The ED had arrested former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma in this case in January apart from Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi and some others as part of this investigation.
The alleged liquor scam in the central Indian state, as per the ED, was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was ruled by a Congress government led by CM Baghel.
Assets worth about Rs 205 crore of various accused have been attached by the agency as part of this investigation till now.
The raids have created a political storm amid the ongoing budget session of the Assembly.
Congress protests against ED raids
Congress leaders staged a protest outside the house of Bhupesh Baghel against the ED's raid on his premises, claiming it to be conspiracy by the Centre.
Following the ED's action, a large number of Congress leaders and workers gathered outside Baghel's house here.
"The top Congress leadership in the state is being targeted by the (BJP-led) Centre with malicious intention. We have gathered here to protest against the conspiracy of the Centre," said a Congress worker, who was among the protesters.
Baghel's office, in a statement, said, "When a false case going on for seven years was dismissed in the court, the ED guests entered the Bhilai residence of former CM and Congress General Secretary Bhupesh Baghel this morning. If someone is trying to stop Congress in Punjab with this conspiracy, then it is a misunderstanding," the statement said.
Notably, a special CBI court last week discharged Bhupesh Baghel of all charges in the alleged sex CD case, purportedly featuring a former BJP minister, lodged in 2017.
(With inputs from PTI)