'Conspiracy by BJP': Bhupesh Baghel denies reports of ED summoning his son

Refuting the reports of Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoning his son Chaitanya Baghel, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday said that this is a "conspiracy" by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to "defame" leaders.

"No notice has been received, so there is no question of appearing anywhere. We will certainly appear before them once we receive a notice. No notice has been received yet...ED's job is to create a deliberate media hype...Agencies are used to defame other individuals. That is what they have done so far...This is a conspiracy by the BJP to defame leaders," Bhupesh Baghel told reporters.

On March 10, the ED conducted searches at the residence of Bhupesh Baghel, his son Chaitanya Baghel and others in connection with an ongoing probe into the alleged multi-crore liquor scam.

In a post on X, Baghel said, "ED has left the house. They found three things in my house. Pen drive containing conversation about transaction of crores between Manturam and Dr. Puneet Gupta (Dr. Raman Singh's son-in-law). Papers of SAIL company of Dr. Raman Singh's son Abhishek Singh."

"The total of farming, dairy, Stridhan and "cash in hand" in the entire joint family is about 33 lakh rupees, the account of which will be given to them. The main thing is that ED officials have not been able to provide any ECIR number," he said.

The ED has alleged that a cartel of government officials, politicians, and liquor businessmen ran a scheme that illegally collected around Rs 2,161 crore from the sale of liquor in the state between 2019 and 2022. The alleged scam involved manipulation of the liquor supply chain, where a cartel controlled the sale and distributioED rn of alcohol through government-run shops.

The agency has earlier conducted multiple raids, including on politicians and bureaucrats linked to the previous Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh.