Bhupesh Baghel's son sent to judicial custody till August 4 in liquor scam

Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, was sent to judicial custody till August 4 by a special PMLA court in Raipur on Tuesday in connection with the alleged multi-crore liquor scam.

He was produced before the court following the completion of his five-day custodial remand with the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Advocate Saurabh Pandey, representing the ED, said, "Chaitanya Baghel's custodial remand was ending today, so he was presented in front of the court today. As of now, he has been sent to judicial custody till August 4. In this money laundering case, if evidence is found against anyone else, they are summoned."

Chaitanya's counsel, Advocate Faizal Rizvi, opposed the ED's request for judicial custody, alleging procedural lapses and suppression of facts by the agency.

"His 5-day custodial remand ended today. ED has demanded 14-day judicial custody. We have raised an objection to it...We have said that ED has suppressed documents and has presented false things in their application...We have said that ED has made the arrest without letting us (Chaitanya Baghel) speak. This shows that the ED's action is biased and one-sided," Rizvi told reporters outside the court. 

Chaitanya was brought to the court under tight security. Former CM Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring were present during the hearing.

The ED sought 14 days of judicial custody, citing Chaitanya's alleged involvement in financial irregularities and the investment of illicit funds.

Outside the court, Chhattisgarh BJP chief Kiran Singh Deo defended the ED's action and dismissed allegations of political vendetta.

"If his son has been found involved in some scams that have occurred over the past few years, then the investigative agencies will naturally perform their duty. If you want to commit scams and then want no one to raise objections against it, then that's not possible... Instead of politicising this issue, they should reflect on their actions that led to this," Deo said.

Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao also criticised the Congress party's state-wide economic blockade protesting the arrest, calling it a total failure.

"Congress party's economic blockade turned out to be a total flop. People of the state, trade organisations, labour organisations and everyone opposed it. Nobody supported the economic blockade," Sao said.

Referring to the ED's findings, Sao added, "ED has very clearly said that he invested Rs 16.70 Crores in his real estate company and was involved in a discrepancy of Rs 1000 Crores. Do not try to hide behind Adani when it comes to a corruption case. They did this economic blockade against the son's arrest. He has serious allegations by ED against him."

Chaitanya Baghel was arrested by the ED on July 18. The arrest followed a raid in March, during which the agency recovered Rs 30 lakh in cash from the residences of Bhupesh and Chaitanya Baghel.

The search operation, spanning 14 locations across Chhattisgarh, was part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in the state's liquor trade, including suspected illegal commissions and money laundering.

According to the ED, Chaitanya Baghel is a recipient of "proceeds of crime" in the alleged liquor scam, where around Rs 2,161 crore was siphoned off through various schemes.