Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], March 26 : With the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducting raids on Wednesday at the residence of Bhupesh Baghel, Congress leader Sushil Anand Shukla accused the BJP of using central agencies against the former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and claimed it was an attempt to disrupt his scheduled trip to the national capital Delhi.
Speaking to ANI, Shukla said, "Earlier, they (BJP) had sent ED to his residence. Today, the CBI has come to Bhupesh Baghel's Raipur and Bhilai residences. He is scheduled to go to Delhi today. To disturb this program, the BJP sent the CBI to his residence today. The BJP is rattled as it is not able to compete politically."
Congress MP K Suresh accused the BJP of using all central agencies, including the CBI, ED and Income Tax, against the Opposition leaders.
"CBI, ED and IT are being used against the Opposition leaders. This is not a new thing. Almost all Congress leaders and former CMs have been raided by the CBI. We have been facing this for the last 10 years," K Suresh told ANI.
CBI conducted searches at the residences of Bhupesh Baghel in Raipur and Bhilai in a case related to the Mahadev betting app.
Baghel was set to reach Delhi today for the meeting of the All India Congress Committee's 'Drafting Committee' constituted for the AICC meeting to be held in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) on April 8 and 9.
Taking to a social media post, the office of Bhupesh Baghel on his X handle wrote, "Now CBI has come. Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is scheduled to go to Delhi today for the meeting of the "Drafting Committee" constituted for the AICC meeting to be held in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) on 8 and 9 April. Even before that, CBI has reached Raipur and Bhilai residence. (Office-Bhupesh Baghel)."
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.
However, former CM and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel refuted the reports of Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoning his son Chaitanya Baghel and 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.
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 distribution 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.