
Chaitanya Baghel handled ₹ 1,000 cr liquor case funds, used ₹ 16.7 cr in biz: ED
Chaitanya was arrested on July 18 from his residence in Bhilai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is currently being interrogated by ED at its Raipur office. He was remanded in ED custody for five days and is due to be produced before the judge on Tuesday.
'Investigation revealed that Chaitanya Baghel was in receipt of proceeds of crime worth ₹16.70 crore. He had used his real estate firms to intermingle the said funds. It was found that he had utilised the said cash amount (proceeds of crime) in development of his real estate project,' the agency said in a statement on Monday.
It alleged that the use of proceeds was designed by way of payment in cash to contractors of Chaitanya Bhaghel's project, and bank entries against cash, among other methods.
Baghel. The statement said Chaitanya colluded with a local businessman Trilok Singh Dhillon and utilised his companies to devise a scheme under which he indirectly received ₹5 crore in the guise of purchase of flats in his 'Vitthalpuram Project' in the name of employees of Dhillon.
'There is a banking trail which indicates that during the relevant period of transactions, Trilok Singh Dhillon received payments from the liquor syndicate in his bank accounts,' ED added.
The statement further said that Chaitanya Baghel 'handled more than ₹1,000 crore worth of proceeds of crime' generated out of the liquor sale irregularities.
'He used to coordinate with Anwar Dhebar (the elder brother of Raipur mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar) and others for transfer of proceeds of crime to the then treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee. Investigation conducted by ED has revealed that funds from this liquor scam were also handed over to key associates of Baghel family for further investments. The end utilisation of this fund is being probed further', ED said.
The alleged liquor scam in the state, according to officials, involved the illegal sale of approximately unaccounted and duty-evaded liquor worth ₹2,174 crore through state-run liquor outlets, under the protection and coordination of senior excise officials.
The ED claimed that alleged irregularities resulted in a massive loss to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate with over ₹2,100 crore.
The alleged irregularities, according to the ED, were orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was governed by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.
In January this year, ED arrested former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma, besides Anwar Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi and some others in this probe.
Bhupesh Baghel alleged on Monday that his son's arrest was an attempt to divert attention from the illegal tree felling in the state, as the Congress was set to raise the issue in the assembly. The veteran Congress leader stated that investigative agencies were being misused to target Opposition leaders, but emphasised that he had complete trust in the judiciary.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
'INDIA bloc considering option of boycotting Bihar assembly elections': Congress
PATNA: A day after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav hinted at a possible boycott of the upcoming assembly election over the process being adopted for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, his ally, the Congress, said that the INDIA bloc was considering the 'unprecedented' option of boycotting the polls. The Congress asserted that it would not accept the electoral rolls being prepared through the Election Commission's ongoing SIR in the state. AICC in-charge for Bihar, Krishna Allavaru, told the media that the INDIA bloc's allies were holding discussions on the issue. 'We challenge Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to pick 1,000 random people in every constituency in Bihar and scrutinise whether the laid-down processes are being followed. If even 25 percent turn out to be genuine, then we will accept the procedure. The truth is, this voter list belongs to the BJP and Gyanesh Kumar. We don't accept it,' Allavaru said. When asked whether his party aligned with Tejashwi's suggestion of possibly boycotting the assembly polls, Allavaru said, 'The INDIA bloc has maintained from day one that the SIR is designed to steal the elections. So, talks are underway on all options. One thing is clear, the votes of the people of Bihar are being stolen. All routes are open. All options are being considered.'


The Hindu
15 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Telangana caste survey a RARE model for India and Sonia's letter a Nobel prize: Revanth Reddy
Hyderabad Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy termed Telangana's Social, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) survey a 'Rare Model' for the country and the letter of Sonia Gandhi to him praising it as a 'Nobel prize and an Oscar' for him. Mr. Reddy was speaking after presenting the survey findings to senior leaders of the Congress at a meeting at the AICC office in New Delhi on Thursday. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi termed it a 'historic milestone' and said that Mr. Reddy has set a benchmark for the nation. The Chief Minister showcased 88,000 pages of data gathered from an unprecedented door-to-door survey, where the public self-certified their caste and other details. 'This is the first of its kind survey in India to comprehensively collect caste-linked data spanning education, employment, political representation, and social status,' Mr. Reddy said amidst applause from the Congress leadership. The Chief Minister attributed the success to Mr. Gandhi and said that February 4, when the survey started last year, would be celebrated as Social Justice Day in Telangana. Highlighting an interesting finding of the survey, Mr. Reddy said 3.9% of people self-identified as not belonging to any caste. This group was identified as highly educated and English-speaking individuals by an Expert Committee that studied the data scientifically. Turning emotional, the Chief Minister showed a handwritten letter from Sonia Gandhi praising the survey and described it as 'more valuable than a Nobel or an Oscar,' and 'personal lifetime achievement.' The survey revealed that BCs constitute 56.36% of the State's population. Based on these findings, the Telangana government passed two significant bills ensuring 42% reservation for BCs in both local bodies and in education and employment. Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Chief Minister said that Mr. Gandhi made this possible unlike the BJP leaders who simply talk. He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was a 'legally converted BC' and would do nothing for the BCs. He said Mr. Modi was forced to repeal the farm laws by Rahul Gandhi, and a similar stand was taken by the Prime Minister on caste survey once Rahul Gandhi stepped up the pressure. Priyanka Gandhi said she was proud of Revanth Reddy for the achievement, and more so for having the political courage to do it. AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar and TPCC president Mahesh Goud were among those present.


NDTV
26 minutes ago
- NDTV
ED Raids 6 Sites In Hyderabad Over Rs 621 Crore Scam Linked To Highway Project
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches across six locations in Hyderabad in connection with a Rs 621-crore bank-fraud case against the promoters and directors of a company and its associate firms. The investigation was based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against SEW LSY Highways Limited and others for allegedly siphoning off loan funds, cheating, and criminal misconduct, resulting in the loss of public money, the probe agency said in a statement. The raids targeted SEW Infrastructure Limited (SIL), Prasad & Company (Project Works) Private Limited (PSPWPL), their group firms, and directors, the ED said. SEW LSY Highways Limited was incorporated as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the execution of a highway project assigned by the Uttar Pradesh State Highway Authority to a consortium of SIL and PSPWPL. The project was backed by a Rs 1,700-crore term loan from a consortium of 14 banks led by Punjab National Bank, of which Rs 603.68 crore was disbursed. The ED's probe revealed a complex scheme of intra-group sub-contracting where work was passed on at successively lower values, primarily through SEW Transport Networks Ltd (STNL) and then to PSPWPL. It alleged that part of the loan funds was diverted to PSPWPL, which then infused these funds back as the promoters' contribution, violating loan conditions. "However, the project was not completed and the term loan became a non-performing asset, resulting in an outstanding amount of Rs 621.78 crore to the banks," the ED said. Additionally, 33 bank accounts belonging to SEW Infrastructure Limited, as well as their directors and relatives were frozen during the search operations. SEW Infrastructure Ltd. was founded in 1983 by Vallurupalli Nageswara Rao and is based in Hyderabad.