Raipur: In the liquor scam investigation, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel Chaitanya Baghel is all set to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today. ED had seized a pen drive attached to the Manturam case and cash of ₹33 lakh from him during the March 10 raids.
As part of its probe into the Chhattisgarh liquor scandal, the ED had also conducted searches at the residence of Bhupesh Baghel. But after the raids, Chaitanya Baghel was given a summons to appear for questioning.
It is the Income Tax Department’s case that the corruption at the excise department in Chhattisgarh began as far back as May 11, 2022, when the department filed a petition in Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court. Former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, his son Yash Tuteja and someone in the CM’s Secretariat as Deputy Secretary, Soumya Chaurasia, is accused in a petition of allegedly indulging in an illegal deal of bribes and commissions. Anwar Dhebar, brother of the former Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, was also alleged to play a vital role in collecting illegal funds, police said.
According to these findings, the ED filed a PMLA case against him on November 18, 2022. The ED in its charge sheet also mentioned how a criminal syndicate that started with Anwar Dhebar manipulated the rates against the policy of excise for illicit gains. On investigation, it transpired that the 2017 amendment in the liquor policy gave CSMCL (Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited) the freedom to sell liquor. Nevertheless, after 2019, Anwar Dhebar allowed Arunpati Tripathi to become the MD CSMCL, helping in massive corruption with a handful of incumbent government officials, business tycoons, and political bigwigs.
The scam is estimated at ₹2,161 crore in the ED’s charge sheet. The ED had arrested Kawasi Lakhma in connection with the case on January 15.
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