Arrest of former Chhattisgarh CM Baghel's son Chaitanya is tactics to crush people's voice, says Priyanka Gandhi
'The ED on Friday (July 18, 2025) arrested Chaitanya Baghel, son of the senior Congress leader, in an alleged liquor scam-linked money-laundering case,' official sources said. Mr. Chaitanya was later sent to a five-day ED remand by a court.
"The BJP government has handed over all the forests of Chhattisgarh to Adani ji. The forests are being destroyed in defiance of the PESA Act and NGT directives. Former Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel ji was about to raise this issue in the Assembly. To stop him, ED raided his house early in the morning and arrested his son," Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi.
In the last 11 years, the country has understood that these are ways to "crush the voice of the people and suppress the Opposition," she said. "But it is impossible to suppress the truth and scare the Opposition with such tactics. Every Congress worker stands firmly with Baghel ji," Priyanka Gandhi said.
Mr. Chaitanya was taken into custody by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following fresh early morning raids on Friday (July 18, 2025) conducted at his residence in Bhilai town of Durg district. The father-son duo reside at the same house.
Bhupesh Baghel alleged that the Central agencies were being misused to target Opposition leaders, but asserted that he trusted the judiciary and would cooperate with them. Congress MLAs boycotted the proceedings of the State Assembly for the day as a mark of protest against the arrest and accused the agency of trying to harass the Opposition.
ED sources said Mr. Chaitanya was arrested under Section 19 of the anti-money laundering law as he was allegedly not cooperating during the searches that came about following receipt of fresh evidence in the case. According to the ED, 'The alleged liquor scam in the State was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was governed by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.'
Assets worth about ₹205 crore of various accused have been attached by the ED as part of this investigation so far, according to the agency.
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