Chhattisgarh liquor scam: Ex-CM's son gets bail in high-profile case
Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, just got bail from the High Court after spending months in jail.
He was arrested over a massive liquor scam that allegedly ran from 2019 to 2022, with both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and state anti-corruption agencies accusing him of money laundering and corruption.
What are the allegations?
Investigators say Baghel was a key player in a syndicate that collected extra cash—₹75-100 per country liquor case—from distillers, and moved more than ₹1,000 crore through unrecorded sales using fake holograms and bottles.
The state's chargesheet claims he pocketed at least ₹200-250 crore via close associates, with total illegal proceeds possibly crossing ₹3,500 crore.
How did the case unfold?
Baghel was first picked up by the ED in July 2024 after raids in Bhilai, then re-arrested by state authorities while still behind bars a few months later.
The ED has named over 70 individuals and companies so far and frozen assets worth over ₹61 crore belonging to Baghel and earlier attachments worth ₹215 crore in total—including distilleries—while investigators have filed thousands of pages of evidence as the probe continues.