Bhupesh Baghel's Son's Assets Worth Rs 61 Crore Attached In Liquor Scam Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 61.20 crore belonging to Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with the Chhattisgarh liquor scam.

According to ED officials, the attached properties include 364 residential plots and agricultural land valued at Rs 59.96 crore, along with movable assets, bank balances, and fixed deposits worth Rs 1.24 crore. With this, the total value of assets attached in the case has reached Rs 276 crore.

Advocate Saurabh Pandey, representing the ED, added that the property attachment is temporary. "The Adjudicating Authority will now hear arguments from both sides and issue a notice to Chaitanya Baghel. Only if the investigation supports the ED's claims will the attachment be confirmed. The accused will still have the right to appeal in higher courts," he said.

Chaitanya Baghel, who has already been arrested in the case, remains in judicial custody.

Investigators describe one of India's biggest state-run liquor rackets as "cash, commission and corruption". Between 2019 and 2023, the ED alleges, Chhattisgarh's state liquor monopoly was turned into a parallel extortion economy, camouflaged under excise policies and political patronage. At its core, the agency claims, was Chaitanya Baghel, the former CM's son accused of diverting black money into high-end real estate and shell companies.

The probe claims Chaitanya Baghel's company Vitthal Green acted as a money-laundering front, receiving Rs 5 crore from Saheli Jewellers, a shell firm already flagged in the scam. Despite being shown as a loan, no interest was paid, and Rs 4.5 crore remained unpaid. This, the ED says, was a sign that the deal was "a cover for laundering."

In a single day in 2020, 19 flats were allegedly purchased under Chaintanya Baghel-linked firms, with several buyers traced back to associates of liquor trader Trilok Singh Dhillon, further muddying the money trail.

The ED's investigation describes the scam as a three-layered operation. Part 1 is distilleries, which allegedly paid Rs 75 per liquor case as "commission", a bribe system coordinated by officials like Anil Tuteja (Retired IAS) and Arun Pati Tripathi (ITS) under the political influence of Anwar Dhebar. Part 2 is a shadow liquor network that bypassed official depots, using duplicate holograms to sell liquor off-record. About 400 trucks per month moved illegal liquor, generating massive cash profits. Part 3 comprised premium imported liquor brands being sold through rigged licenses, granting select private firms monopoly access, a move that earned an estimated Rs 211 crore in illegal profits.

The ED claims over Rs 1,392 crore from the scam was funneled to Congress-linked entities and leaders between 2019 and 2022.

While the ED calls the case a "hijack of governance," the Congress has denounced it as political vendetta. 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."