ED raids ex-Chhattisgarh CM Baghels home in connection with case against son
PTI
Last Updated:
Raipur, Jul 18 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Friday launched fresh raids at the premises of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel's son Chaitanya Baghel in connection with a money laundering probe against him linked to an alleged liquor scam, officials said.
Chaitanya Baghel's house in Bhilai town, which he shares with his father, is being searched by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on receipt of fresh evidence in the case, they said.
The federal probe agency conducted similar raids against Chaitanya Baghel in March this year.
Bhupesh Baghel, a senior Congress leader, also posted a message on X saying the ED has reached his Bhilai residence on the last day of the assembly session.
The ED earlier said Chaitanya Baghel was suspected to be the 'recipient" of the proceeds of crime of the alleged liquor scam.
It has said the Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam" resulted in a '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. PTI NES DIV DIV
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
14 minutes ago
- India Today
Betting app case: ED summons Google, Meta again for July 28 after no-show
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday issued fresh summons to tech giants Google and Meta in connection with the promotion of "illegal" online betting and gambling apps, directing them to appear on July 28 after their representatives failed to show up with the required companies have been accused of promoting betting apps and giving prominence to advertisements and websites related to online the representatives of the two companies sought deferment of the July 21 summons, saying they need time to collect relevant information and documents before they present themselves for questioning and recording of their statements, reported news agency the tech giants appear for questioning, their statements will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).The federal agency is probing multiple platforms hosting illegal betting and gambling links, including instances of advertisements placed for them on various Internet-based social media outlets and app tech giants are understood to have been called by the ED to understand how such illegal platforms can place advertisements on their social media and communication actors, celebrities and sports persons are also under the scanner of the agency in these cases, and they are also expected to depose before the ED has said illegal online betting and gambling platforms were cheating innocent people of their hard-earned money, and also laundering and evading taxes worth crores of rupees.- EndsInputs from PTI advertisement
The Wire
14 minutes ago
- The Wire
The Attack On a Bureaucrat in Odisha is a Blow to Sardar Patel's Vision on Civil Service
During Naveen Patnaik's tenure as Chief Minister of Odisha for 25 years, the state administration got streamlined to govern and deliver services to people. Welfare policies got implemented without delay. The best example of such implementation is the scheme called KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation). The scheme provided Rs. 6,000 to each eligible farmer, including agricultural labourers. It was a novel project in India which included in its scope not just the farmers but agricultural labourers as well. Thousands of beneficiaries across the state were receiving the amount and the credit for that was given to the civil servants who worked day and night to deliver the services. A probationary IAS officer used to crack jokes that those going to Odisha were free to handle the projects assigned to them as a tall regional leader knew what to do with the civil service, including officers of the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS). In sharp contrast to the tenure of Patnaik as the CM, Ratnakar Sahoo, an OAS officer was dragged from his office in broad daylight and kicked and punched by some local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of Bhubaneswar. This shocking and murderous treatment of a senior officer of Odisha bureaucracy outraged the state and indeed India as whole. A foundation laid by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel It is well known that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel laid the foundation of the civil service in independent India. Once, when members of the Constituent Assembly/Provisional Parliament made sharp attacks on civil service, Patel famously said, "Do not quarrel with the instruments with which you want to work. It is a bad workman who quarrels with the instrument. Nobody wants to put in work when he is criticised and ridiculed in public." BJP leaders who try to appropriate Patel must be mindful of his vision. Liberal democracy demands public bureaucracy to negotiate between public and the elected political leaders. They are supposed to be neutral and non-partisan in its approach. It is also expected that they will protect constitutional rights of citizens and bring benefits of development to people. Civil servants are professionals. They are recruited through written examination conducted by independent entities, be it UPSC or State Public Service Commissions. These civil servants are trained and aware of rules and regulations of the state. By following the rules, they try to implement the developmental programmes. In the end they are accountable to people for thedelivery of services to them. A bureaucrat is a person who holds to his bureau or chair in his or her official room, but if he or she gets attacked by the goondas of the political leaders controlling the state apparatus then it would strike a death blow to professional bureaucracy. On August 23, 1949, when the Constituent Assembly was discussing Article 320 (corresponding Article 286 in the draft Constitution) dealing with the functions of the Public Service Commissions, Laxminarayan Sahu, a distinguished Member of the Assembly representing Orissa (now Odisha), said, '...we are providing for the formation of a Public Service Commission solely with a view to ensure the smooth and efficient running of our Republican Government'. However, he cautioned by saying that, 'But when a democratic form of Government is established, many political parties dominate the field and they adopt undesirable methods for appointments in the services'. 'We are going to form the Public Service Commission' he said, 'solely with a view that political parties may not be in a position to adopt such methods' and '...no one may be able to suggest that the Services are working under the influence.' That vision articulated by an Odia in 1949 got trampled in Odisha in 2025 when an officer of the state civil service was brutally assaulted in full public view by those belonging to the ruling party, BJP. It is widely reported that Odisha government led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi does not allow the civil servants to attend the cabinet meetings. It is standard practice that those heading various departments are supposed to attend those meetings but tragically that practice has been dispensed with. Trust between politicians of the BJP and civil servants is at the lowest level in the state It seems that trust between politicians of the BJP and civil servants is at the lowest level in the state. This can harm the development of the state immeasurably. It is reflected in the behaviour of the politicians vis-à-vis the civil servants. The question is that whether the BJP hooligans could have mustered the courage to beat an incumbent BMC Additional Commissioner belonging to IAS? It deserves a cogent answer. J.P. Das who left the IAS after serving for a few years recalled that till Nandini Satpathy became the chief Minister of Odisha, leaders of political parties in the State used to call IAS officers of Odisha as Sirs or Madams. She tried to change that pattern of treating civil servants as superior to their political bosses. IAS officers used to live in eight roomed quarter with dozens of servants paid by the government and ministers would live in much smaller dwelling units. Such power relationship changed but not to the desired extent. The real work in administration in Odisha is done by the OAS officers who work as subordinate officials of the IAS incumbents. Ajit Triparthy, the former chief Secretary of Odisha once told this author that IAS officials behave like wise old owls in the state by handing over the works to OAS officers who behave like fish in a handful of water. The tragedy inflicted on Sahoo, who belonging to OAS, is a lesson for the entire civil service cadre of the state that BJP leaders acting in partisan manner would not hesitate to unleash violence against them in case their work is not done. Those operating the state machinery must rescue the civil service from such heinous assaults It is heartening that the IAS and OAS Officers' Associations came together to deal with the attack on Sahoo. In addition to the existing provisions, they should demand a special law to protect them in their work places from the assault by intruders affiliated to the ruling party. It is also a welcome sign that in wake of the stand of the OAS officers association that it would go hartal chief minister Majhi called a meeting which resulted in the compromise that the main BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan would be arrested to face legal consequences. This is indicative of the ecosystem of fear and anxiety within which civil servants of Odisha are now working. When the country was embroiled in partition-related violence after independence, Sardar Patel, as stated earlier, had said that no civil servant would give his/her best when mocked at in the public. It is indeed tragic that when we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Constitution, the civil service in Odisha is facing attacks and the life and limbs of civil servants are placed in grave peril. Those operating the state machinery must rescue the civil service from such heinous assaults and salvage the state and its people.
NDTV
20 minutes ago
- NDTV
Centre Begins Impeachment Of Justice Yashwant Varma, Caught In Cash-At-Home Row
New Delhi: The impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma - the ex-Delhi High Court judge at whose home "piles of burnt Rs 500 notes" were found - began Monday afternoon after 145 MPs, from ruling and opposition parties, submitted a memorandum to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Sources said MPs from opposition parties like the Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) signed the memorandum, as did those from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies, including the Telugu Desam Party, the Janata Dal United, and Janata Dal Secular. Among the signatories so far are ex-union minister Anurag Thakur from the BJP, the Congress' Rahul Gandhi, and Supriya Sule from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party faction. The impeachment of a sitting High Court judge - a first for independent India - will now be investigated by Parliament under Articles 124, 217, and 218 of the Constitution, sources said. What Is Impeachment? It is a constitutional mechanism to remove a sitting judge - specifically those from the Supreme Court or a state High Court - from his/her office. Once appointed, judges cannot be removed from office without an order from the President, who, in turn, requires consent from Parliament. NDTV Explains | How Do You Remove A Sitting Judge? Impeachment Explained The Constitution does not actually refer to the word 'impeachment', but the procedure to remove judges is outlined in the Judges Inquiry Act of 1968 and mentioned in two constitutional provisions - Article 124 (for Supreme Court judges) and Article 218 (for those from High Courts). How Is Impeachment Done? An impeachment motion can be introduced in either House of Parliament. At least 50 Rajya Sabha MPs must sign the motion - which is a record of the intention to impeach - for it to proceed further. In the Lok Sabha that number is 100. Visuals from the burnt outhouse on Justice Varma's bungalow grounds. Once that threshold is reached, the Chair of the former or the Speaker of the latter, depending on which House admits the motion, will review the available materials. Centre Confirms Impeachment On Sunday Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju confirmed a large number of MPs - including at least three dozen from the Congress - had signed the memorandum. READ | The government has made it clear it intends to try and remove Justice Varma, who has since been returned to his parent High Court in Allahabad, and stood down from active duty. Justice Varma Cash-At-Home Case The controversy broke on March 15. Firefighters called to the judge's bungalow in central Delhi discovered piles of money that had been burnt by a fire that spread from the main building. Justice Varma has denied any link to the cash, and labelled allegations of impropriety against him and members of his family "preposterous". He has also claimed a 'conspiracy' against him. READ | "Proof Cash Found At Justice Varma's Home": Probe Panel's Findings However, the discovery of the burnt cash triggered a massive row that included questions about corruption in the highest levels of the judicial system. In response the Supreme Court set up an in-house panel that recommended the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma. That report was forwarded to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi - by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Kumar - with the same recommendation. Among other points, the 64-page document, accessed by NDTV, highlighted the fact that access to the outhouse in which the money was found was maintained by the judge and his family". Justice Varma's Objections Last week Justice Varma approached the Supreme Court to challenge the in-house committee's report. He questioned the jurisdiction and authority of the committee to probe a sitting judge. He argued the committee ignored questions he had raised and that could speak to his innocence, and denied him a fair hearing. He also argued neither the Chief Justice nor the Supreme Court had 'power of superintendence', i.e., they cannot take disciplinary action against High Court judges. No judge in independent India has been impeached, although there have been five it was a possibility. The most recent case was in 2018 and involved ex-Chief Justice of India Deepak Misra, who was accused of administrative misconduct and arbitrary allocation of cases.
