The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made serious allegations against Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, accusing him of laundering ₹16.7 crore through shell firms and under-invoiced real estate deals connected to a ₹2,100 crore liquor scam. Chaitanya Baghel was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following raids at his residence in Bhilai. A special PMLA court in Raipur granted the ED a five-day custodial remand.
According to the ED's remand report, Chaitanya Baghel played a "central and active role" in laundering illegal proceeds from a liquor syndicate that allegedly manipulated Chhattisgarh's excise system from 2019 to 2022. The agency claims that the illicit funds are part of a larger pool of criminal proceeds generated by a powerful liquor syndicate that systematically rigged the state's excise department between 2019 and 2022. The ED alleges a deep-rooted nexus between politicians, bureaucrats, and liquor contractors who orchestrated a parallel cash economy by inflating procurement costs and siphoning off revenue through shell firms and middlemen.
One specific transaction under scrutiny involves ₹5 crore allegedly funneled from Saheli Jewellers into a real estate project called "Vitthal Green," developed by Baghel Developers. While official records declare the project's cost as ₹7.14 crore, the ED estimates the actual expenditure to be between ₹13 crore and ₹15 crore, with a significant portion paid in cash. A key witness, Pappu Bansal, reportedly told the ED that only ₹2.62 crore was recorded in payments to the contractor, while ₹4.2 crore was allegedly paid off the books. The ED also flagged a ₹5 crore payment from Saheli Jewellers to M/s Baghel Developers, stating this was not a legitimate loan but a channel for laundering cash proceeds from the scam. Of this amount, ₹4.5 crore remains unpaid with no interest charged.
The ED's case relies on testimonies and digital evidence linking Chaitanya Baghel to the syndicate's financial network. Laxmi Narayan Bansal, also known as Pappu, who is believed to be a key money handler, admitted in his statement to laundering over ₹1,000 crore in cash in coordination with Chaitanya. He claimed to have received ₹136 crore in three months, based on encrypted messages retrieved from the phone of Anwar Dhebar, a key middleman and brother of an ex-Congress mayor.
The arrest has sparked political reactions, with Congress functionaries calling for a statewide "Aarthik Nakabandi". This includes planned road blockades, protests, and mineral transport disruption across Chhattisgarh. Former CM Bhupesh Baghel has accused the Centre of vendetta politics, alleging a "selective pattern" of enforcement. He stated that he would not break and that his son is strong enough to face imprisonment. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai defended the ED's actions, stating that the agency "doesn't act randomly" and "knows what it's doing".
Chaitanya Baghel's lawyer stated that Chaitanya's name had not been mentioned in previous complaints and that he had not been summoned for questioning. The ED's counsel, however, claimed that they had found evidence that Chaitanya Baghel layered a lot of money and proceeds of crime and helped the liquor scam syndicate launder approximately ₹1,000 crore, receiving ₹13 crore himself.
The ED argued in court that Chaitanya was non-cooperative during interrogation, refusing to disclose key details about the movement and utilization of funds. The agency stated that his custodial interrogation was vital to confront him with co-accused individuals, corroborate financial data, and trace the full extent of money laundering. The court granted the remand after the ED assured adherence to Supreme Court directives regarding the arrest procedure. The ED has so far attached properties worth over ₹205 crore in connection with this case.
