Chaitanya Baghel actively linked to proceeds of crime in liquor case: ED tells court

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) claimed before a court on Friday (July 18, 2025) that companies linked to Chaitanya Baghel, the son of senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, has been in possession of proceeds of crime and is also actively involved in the processes or activity connected with “proceeds of crime including its acquisition, possession, concealment, transfer, use, projecting the same as untainted etc”.

Based on the purported disclosures by Laxmi Narayan Bansal, another accused in the case, the probe agency told the court that Mr. Bansal had admitted in his statements that he handled more than ₹1,000 crore cash originating out of the liquor scam in association with Mr. Chaitanya Baghel, which are proceeds of crime.

“…he [Bansal] used to collect these proceeds of crime from Anwar Dhebar via Dipen Chawda and thereafter he had delivered the said funds to Shri Ram Gopal Agarwal in coordination with Chaitanya Baghel. Also, he delivered around ₹80-100 crore cash (out of the above said funds received from Dipen Chawda) to “Shri K.K. Srivastava” on Chaitanya Baghel instructions,” the ED stated before the court. All the other names mentioned above are co-accused in the case.

It claimed that Mr. Chaitanya Baghel “is in receipt of proceeds of crime of ₹16.70 crore and has also played an important role in handling of more than ₹1,000 crore originating out of proceeds of crime”.

Opposing the petition, the counsels appearing for Mr. Chaitanya Baghel, Faisal Rizvi and Harshwardhan Parganiha, denied all the allegations made in the grounds of arrest. They argued that the accused had legitimate sources of income, primarily drawn from the agriculture business spanning over 200 acres of land, proportionate to his expenditure as well as assets which could well be justified from his annual Income Tax Returns (ITRs).