Raipur: The Enforcement Directorate has claimed Chaitanya Baghel, son of senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, received Rs 16.70 crore from an alleged liquor scam and played a key role in handling more than Rs 1000 crore that constituted the proceeds of crime.
The ED Friday arrested Chaitanya Baghel during the day in an alleged liquor scam-linked money laundering case, official sources said.
In its remand application filed in a special court here, the ED said its probe has revealed he was in possession of proceeds of crime and was also actively involved in its acquisition, possession, concealment, transfer, use and projecting the same as untainted.
The ED investigation revealed that Rs 5 crore was received by two firms of Chaitanya from M/s Saheli Jewellers, and further Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu has confirmed that these funds were transferred against “cash originating out of liquor scam”, the remand application said.
“Further, Chaitanya has not paid any interest against this payment and out of Rs 5 crore, Rs 4.5 crore is still pending in the books for repayment. Thus, it is evident that the payment made by M/s Baghel Developers owned by Chaitanya is against the payment of an equivalent amount in cash only,” the ED remand application added.
During the investigation, it was revealed that a large part of proceeds of crime (POC) generated from liquor scam was being handed over to Bansal, the ED said.
Bansal, in his statement under section 50 of PMLA, admitted he had received funds worth Rs 136 crore in a short span of time (three months) as discussed in the chats held between Anwar Dhebar and Nitesh Purohit (recovered from the phone of Anwar Dhebar, who was an agent for the syndicate and was managing collection on ground and its subsequent delivery to key persons), it said.
Furthermore, he (Bansal) had admitted in his statements that he handled more than Rs 1000 crore cash originating out of liquor scam in association with Chaitanya, which are proceeds of crime, the remand application said.
Bansal had collected the amount from Anwar Dhebar (liquor businessman) via Dipen Chawda and, thereafter, he had delivered the said funds to Ram Gopal Agarwal (Congress leader) in coordination with Chaitanya. it said.
Also, he delivered around Rs 80-100 crore cash (out of the above said funds received from Dipen Chawda) to KK Srivastava on Chaitanya’s instructions, the ED remand application said.
The investigation also revealed use of cash (proceeds of crime) in the construction of ‘Vitthal Green project’ of M/s Baghel Developers.
