The CBI on Wednesday morning swooped down at the residence of former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh, days after the Enforcement Directorate carried out raids at his residence in connection with a money-laundering investigation linked to an alleged liquor scam.
Sources said the CBI’s raid was linked to the alleged betting scam during the Baghel-led Congress rule in the state. Agency sleuths reached Baghel’s residences in Raipur and Bhilai, and the residential premises of a senior police officer and a close associate of the former chief minister, said an official.
Congress leader T.S. Singh Deo condemned the raid, saying the Narendra Modi government was misusing agencies only to divert people’s attention from the real issues concerning the public.
“First the ED, then the CBI — the investigative agencies let go of no opportunity to work as the BJP’s B team. Recently, when the government itself had to show the report of the ED’s action against Opposition leaders, it became clear that it has only become a weapon to intimidate and harass. This action being taken by the BJP out of political malice is a violation of democracy,” Deo said.
Deo was referring to the revelation by the Centre in Parliament last week that the ED had registered 193 cases against politicians, mainly from the Opposition, across the country in the past 10 years but only two of them led to convictions.
“It is highly condemnable that agencies are harassing former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel repeatedly. This is only a futile attempt by the BJP to tarnish Bhupeshji’s image. The BJP government of the state is incapable of running Chhattisgarh, hence it is making such efforts to divert the attention of the people from issues related to the public,” Deo said.
In a post in Hindi on X, Baghel’s team said: “Now the CBI has arrived. 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 on April 8 and 9. Even before that, the CBI has reached Raipur and Bhilai Niwas.”
The CBI said the agency was conducting searches at 60 locations across Chhattisgarh, Bhopal, Calcutta and Delhi, including premises linked to politicians, senior bureaucrats, police officers, key functionaries of Mahadev Book, and other individuals suspected of involvement in the online betting case.
“The case pertains to the illegal operations of Mahadev Book, an online betting platform promoted by Ravi Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar, both currently based in Dubai. Investigations have revealed that the promoters allegedly paid substantial amounts as ‘protection money’ to public servants to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted functioning of their illegal betting network,” the agency said in a statement.
The case was initially registered by the Economic Offences Wing, Raipur, and was transferred to the CBI by the BJP government in Chhattisgarh. On March 10, the ED had conducted searches at the residence of Baghel and his son Chaitanya in Bhilai in connection with a liquor scam during the tenure of the previous Congress government.