Raipur: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth ₹61.20 crore belonging to Chaitanya Baghel, the son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with the ongoing liquor scam investigation.
According to ED officials, the latest seizure includes 364 residential plots and agricultural properties valued at ₹59.96 crore, in addition to bank balances, movable assets, and fixed deposits worth ₹1.24 crore. With this, the total value of attached assets in the case has now reached ₹276 crore.
🧾 ED Says Property Attachment Is Provisional
Advocate Saurabh Pandey, appearing for the ED, clarified that the attachment remains temporary until the Adjudicating Authority completes its review.
“The Adjudicating Authority will now hear both sides and issue a notice to Chaitanya Baghel. The attachment will be confirmed only if evidence supports the ED’s claims. The accused still retains the right to appeal before higher courts,” Pandey stated.
Chaitanya Baghel, who was arrested earlier this year, remains in judicial custody.
🕸️ Inside the Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam: ‘Cash, Commission, and Corruption’
The case, described by investigators as one of India’s largest state-run liquor rackets, allegedly operated between 2019 and 2023.
The ED claims that Chhattisgarh’s state liquor monopoly was “transformed into a parallel extortion economy,” functioning under the cover of excise policies and political patronage.
At the heart of the operation, the agency alleges, was Chaitanya Baghel, accused of diverting illicit funds into luxury real estate and shell companies.
💸 Vitthal Green, Shell Firms, and Suspicious Loans
According to the ED, Vitthal Green, a company linked to Chaitanya Baghel, received ₹5 crore from Saheli Jewellers, a firm already flagged as a shell entity in the case. The money was shown as a “loan,” but no interest was paid, and ₹4.5 crore remained unpaid, which the agency says indicates money laundering under the guise of a financial transaction.
The probe also claims that in a single day in 2020, 19 flats were purchased through Baghel-linked companies, with several buyers traced to associates of liquor trader Trilok Singh Dhillon, further deepening the money trail.
🏗️ Three-Tiered Scam Network Exposed
ED’s investigation outlines a three-layer structure of the alleged scam:
- Distillery Commissions:
Distilleries allegedly paid ₹75 per liquor case as a bribe, coordinated by senior officials including Anil Tuteja (Retd. IAS) and Arun Pati Tripathi (ITS), under the political supervision of Anwar Dhebar. - Shadow Distribution Network:
A parallel system allegedly operated using duplicate holograms to sell liquor off-record, with 400 trucks per month moving illegal consignments, generating massive cash profits. - Rigged Premium Liquor Licenses:
Select private firms were allegedly granted monopoly access to sell premium imported liquor, earning ₹211 crore in illegal profits through manipulated licensing.
The ED further claims that over ₹1,392 crore from the scam was diverted to Congress-linked entities and leaders between 2019 and 2022.
⚖️ Political Reactions: Congress Calls It Vendetta
The Congress Party has dismissed the ED’s actions as politically motivated.
Party spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla said,
“This is a malicious action. Even ancestral properties are being attached. The people of Chhattisgarh will not forgive this misuse of agencies.”
Meanwhile, the ED insists that its investigation reveals a “hijack of governance” and a “systematic plunder of public revenue” through corruption and cash laundering networks.
📌 Key Highlights
- ED attaches ₹61.2 crore assets of Chaitanya Baghel.
- Properties include 364 plots and agricultural land.
- Probe alleges ₹1,392 crore channeled through liquor scam.
- ED describes scheme as “cash, commission, and corruption.”
- Congress condemns action as political vendetta.