The ED officials suspect Chaitanya Baghel of receiving the proceeds of crime of the liquor scam which led to the raid. Responding to the raid, senior Baghel claimed that this part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's 'frustration' against him, especially since he was made Congress's in-charge for Punjab.
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided the residence of former Chhattisgarh chief minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel who lives in Bhilai town of Durg district with his family as part of a money laundering investigation against his son, Chaitanya Baghel in the alleged liquor scam case and seized about Rs 30 lakh apart from some documents.
The ED officials suspect Chaitanya Baghel of receiving the proceeds of crime of the liquor scam which led to the raid.
Responding to the raid, senior Baghel claimed that this part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's 'frustration' against him, especially since he was made Congress's in-charge for Punjab. He reportedly said, "It is not a big thing as I have a big family and we do farming on 140 acres and have other sources of income. We will provide its details."
Soon after the searches, a number of Congress leaders and workers gathered outside Baghel's house in Bhilai. They staged a protest outside the House against the ED and claimed it to be a 'conspiracy' by the Centre.
The agency searched 14 locations in Durg district, including the Bhilai premises of Bhupesh Baghel's son Chaitanya Baghel, his alleged close associate Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu Bansal and others under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The raids began around 7 am and the ED search party was accompanied by a security team of the CRPF, the sources said.
Chaitanya Baghel shares the Bhilai accommodation with his father and hence the premises are being covered. He (Chaitanya Baghel) is suspected to be the "recipient" of the proceeds of crime of the liquor scam, they said.
About Rs 30 lakh in cash was seized before the eight-hour-long search ended in the evening, the sources said, adding the ED also brought a cash counting machine the former chief minister's residence.
A total of 14 premises in the Durg district were raided, official sources 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 Supreme Court last year quashed the ED's first ECIR (FIR) in this case that was based on an Income Tax Department complaint.
The ED later filed a fresh case after it asked the Chhattisgarh EOW/ACB to file a fresh FIR against the accused on the basis of material shared by the anti-money laundering agency.
The EOW/ACB registered the FIR on January 17 last year, about a month after the BJP defeated the incumbent Congress government in the assembly polls, and named 70 individuals and companies, including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma, former chief secretary Vivek Dhand and others.
According to the ED, the alleged commission generated through illegal sale of liquor was shared "as per the directions from the highest political executives of the state."
Senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel claimed that the ED raid at his premises was the outcome of the BJP's frustration.
Baghel claimed ED found Rs 32-33 lakh cash in his house where he lives with his wife, three daughters, a son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
"It is not a big thing as I have a big family and we do farming on 140 acres and have other sources of income. We will provide its details," he said to the press.
Baghel claimed the ED hasn't found anything except some documents related to cases concerning BJP leaders.
He alleged that the raids were aimed at discouraging him after he was made Congress's in-charge for Punjab.
The former chief minister said he asked the ED officials about the ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report, the ED's equivalent of a police FIR) number of the case but they said "there was no ECIR number."
"Then what is the investigation about? This makes it clear that asking questions in the legislative assembly is criminal now. Kawasi Lakhma (Congress MLA) asked questions and he was arrested (by the ED earlier)...," Bhupesh Baghel said.
Baghel's office on his X handle said the "false case" against him is carrying on for the last seven years. It also said that no one will be able to stop the Congress in Punjab, where Baghel has just taken over as in-charge of party affairs.
"When the false case going on for seven years was dismissed in the court, today ED guests have entered the Bhilai residence of former chief minister, Congress general secretary Bhupesh Baghel this morning. If someone is trying to stop Congress in Punjab through this conspiracy, then it is a misunderstanding," the Baghel's office said in the post in Hindi.
The Congress said the raids against the Baghels were a "conspiracy" to "manage headlines" on a day when Parliament's Budget session reconvened and the government faced questions from the opposition on multiple issues.
Soon after the searches, a number of Congress leaders and workers gathered outside Baghel's house in Bhilai.
They staged a protest outside the House against the ED and claimed it to be a conspiracy by the Centre.
Several Congress leaders came out in support of Baghel, saying suvch tactics would not deter him or the party from speaking against the BJP.
In a post on X, AICC general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal termed the raids as distractive tactics by the government to avoid answers on key issues in Parliament.
"These are distractive tactics; whenever the Parliament session is on, the burning issues of the people need to be discussed, but they want to run away from these issues... Government doesn't want to discuss people centric issues. Therefore, whenever Parliament session is on, they do these distractive tactics. Let them do that," he said.
Another Congress general secretary Kumari Selja said the raid at Bhupesh Baghel's place is completely politically motivated.
ED officials said their vehicles were stopped by Congress supporters who had gathered outside the residence of the Baghel's and a stone hit the windshield of a car while the teams were leaving.
The agency is mulling to file a police FIR in this incident, the sources said.