Durg: Congress leaders on Monday staged a protest outside the house of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel against the Enforcement Directorate's raid on his premises, claiming it to be conspiracy by the Centre.
The ED raided Congress leader Baghel's premises in Bhilai town of Durg district as part of a money laundering investigation against his son in the alleged liquor scam case, as per official sources.
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.
VIDEO | ED raids Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel's premises in Bhilai as part of a money laundering investigation against his son - Chaitanya Baghel - in an alleged liquor scam case.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 10, 2025
Chaitanya Baghel shares the Bhilai accommodation with his father and hence the premises are being… pic.twitter.com/AdUWic1y26
On Monday, 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 were also being searched under 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 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 of about Rs 205 crore of various accused have been attached by the agency as part of this investigation till now.
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