- By Shubham Bajpai
- Fri, 18 Jul 2025 03:56 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Chaitanya Baghel Arrested: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in the alleged liquor scam case.
He has been arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). His arrest came after the probe agency raided the Baghel residence in Bhilai.
Why was Chiatanya arrested?
According to ED, they found new evidence that linked Chaitanya to proceeds from the scam. Based on the information, the probe agency conducted a raid on Baghel's residence on Friday. the ED said that Chiatnya was non-cooperative and hence he was arrested.
The ED presented him in front of the court demanding his custody, while Congress workers were protesting outside the court.
What is Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam?
As per the probe agency, the Chhattisgarh liquor scam is a structured corruption that caused losses worth Rs 2,100 crore to the state exchequer between 2019 and 2023, when Congress was in the government with Bhupesh Baghel as the chief minister.
The investigators allege that a syndicate of politicians, bureaucrats, and private contractors was involved in manipulating the distribution, procurement, and sale of both the country and foreign liquor for illegal profits.
The syndicate was active at a state-wide scale and operated with impunity because of the involvement of influential names in the government, including the then Excise Minister Kawasi Lakma, Anil Tuteja, Arunpati Tripathi, and Vijay Bhatia.
While Anwar Dhebar operated as a syndicate middleman, Tuteja and Tripathi oversaw licensing and supply manipulation. Bhatiya, a businessman, was involved i coordinating illegal commission flows.
According to the information, the syndicate diverted funds through fake bottles, manipulated licences, holograms, and off-the-record sales.
How was Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam orchestrated?
In order to operate through the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), the liquor suppliers had to pay up to Rs 75 lakh per case in commission. As per the central probe agency, the commissions were collected centrally and distributed to top members of the network.
ED has alleged that Kawasi Lakma got a monthly commission in the scam while he was the minister. The companies were given a fixed share in the market after they allegedly paid up.
From the state-run shops, the liquor was sold in cash without any record in the books. The record-less sale drained the treasury's money into the pockets of the syndicate.
As part of the scam, FL-10A licences were issued to private vendors for selling foreign liquors. In exchange, a 10 per cent fixed cut per transaction was taken by the syndicate as kickbacks.
The syndicate also indulged in manipulating the holograms by interfering in their tenders, wherein duplicate ones were printed and pasted on unaccounted liquor to sell them at the official outlet. It was done to benefit selected firms. It helped in bypassing the inventory and revenue system