On Monday, Congress leader and former CM Bhupesh Baghel, his son and others were raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the liquor scam case in Chhattisgarh. But the ED team has been attacked during Red. People attacked while leaving the house after raid. The ED has said that the agency will file an FIR against the attack.
During the raid, the investigating agency has found about 33 lakh cash cash, pen drive and some documents from Baghel's house which is being investigated. After a long interrogation of 11 hours, the team has gone out of the residence of former CM Bhupesh Baghel. During this, the car of the officer of the ED's Deputy Director Level was also attacked. The ED is talking about legal action regarding the attack. The agency will register an FIR.
Meanwhile, the Congress expressed displeasure over the raid against former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. The party alleged that in the second phase of the budget session of Parliament, the government has been raided through ED before the purpose of diverting attention from several important issues before the government.
Sources associated with ED say that the search operation of 2 more leaders of Chhattisgarh Congress has been done. These leaders are Rajendra Sahu and Mukesh Chandrakar. Both leaders are said to be close to the former Chief Minister. Search has been done today at their whereabouts. The agency today questioned Chaitanya Baghel during the search operation today. However, the agency was not satisfied with the inquiry and sent them summons.
The ED team was attacked.
After the raid, Baghel said that I am not afraid of death. Bhupesh is neither afraid of contesting elections nor from death. During this, he also mentioned the martyrdom of many senior leaders. A large number of supporters are present outside the residence of former CM Baghel. Officers have left from there. The officers were seen returning with a laptop bag in the shoulder. The team started raids this morning.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate raided his (former Chief Minister's) complexes under a money laundering investigation against Bhupesh Baghel's son in the alleged liquor scam case. Giving information, the sources said that Baghel's son Chaitanya's campus at Bhilai (Durg district), Chaitanya's alleged close aide of Chaitanya, Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu Bansal and some other complexes are also being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Sources said that Chaitanya lives in Bhilai with his father, so search is being done on that premises. He said that there is a doubt that he (Chaitanya Baghel) is beneficial for the income made from the crime of the liquor scam. About 14-15 campuses were raided in the state.
In protest against the raid, the Congress said that Red is a strategy to manage headlines against the Baghel family, when the second phase of the budget session of Parliament started and the government is facing opposition questions on many issues.
Soon after the ED raid, many Congress leaders and activists reached outside Bhupesh Baghel's house in Bhilai and claimed that it was a conspiracy of the central government. Earlier, it was claimed by the ED that the state's revenue suffered heavy losses due to the liquor scam. Due to this, the earnings of more than Rs 2,100 crore went to the beneficiaries of liquor syndicate.
According to the ED, this alleged liquor scam took place between 2019 and 2022, when there was a Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel. The ED has so far seized assets worth about Rs 205 crore from different accused.
Input- Jeetendra
