Raipur, Jul 18: Amid raids by the Enforcement Directorate at his premises, Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said central agencies were being misused to target opposition leaders, but he trusts the judiciary and will cooperate with them.
\nThe Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted fresh searches at the premises of Congress leader Baghel as part of an alleged liquor scam linked to a money laundering investigation against his son Chaitanya Baghel on Friday, official sources said.
\nBaghel\u2019s home in Bhilai town of Durg district, which the father-son duo share, was raided by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following receipt of fresh evidence in the case.
\nSpeaking to the media outside his Bhilai residence, Baghel said, \u201cTo please their master, Modi and Shah have sent the ED to my house. We are not going to be scared or bow down. Bhupesh Baghel won\u2019t be afraid. We will fight the battle of truth.\u201d \u201cOn one hand, in Bihar, voters are being removed (from the voters list) with the help of the Election Commission\u2026democracy is being stripped, and on the other hand, they are misusing the ED, IT, CBI, DRI to suppress opposition leaders. But now, people of the country have understood and are well aware,\u201d he said.
\nThe Congress leader said, \u201cThe ED had come in the past as well and raided my place and found Rs 33 lakh in my house. Now they have come again. What does this mean? We will fully cooperate, whether they trust or not, we believe in democracy and judiciary. They (BJP) are misusing the agency, but we will cooperate with them.\u201d He further questioned the timing of the raid, which coincided with his son Chaitanya\u2019s birthday.
\n\u201cNobody in any democracy in the world can give a birthday gift like the one Modi and Shah have given. On my birthday, both the most respected leaders sent the ED to the houses of my advisor and two OSDs. And now, on my son Chaitanya\u2019s birthday, an ED team is raiding my house. Thanks for these gifts. I will remember them for life,\u201d he said.
\nA heavy posse of police personnel was seen outside the house, even as some party supporters gathered.
\nThe federal probe agency conducted similar raids against Chaitanya Baghel on March 10.
\nEarlier, Baghel, in a post on X, said the ED came to his home on the last day of the assembly session when the issue of trees being felled for a coal mine project of the Adani group in Tamnar tehsil of Raigarh district was to be raised.
\nThe senior Baghel, earlier this month, visited the tehsil and extended support to local villagers who have been protesting against tree felling for a coal mine project in the area.
\nThe mine is allotted to Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MAHAGENCO), which has contracted the MDO (mine developer cum operator) to the Adani group.
\nThe ED earlier claimed that Chaitanya Baghel was suspected to be the \u201crecipient\u201d of the proceeds from the alleged liquor scam.
\nIt has been said that the \u201cscam\u201d resulted in a \u201cmassive loss\u201d to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate with over Rs 2,100 crore.
\nIn this case, the ED, in January, arrested former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma, besides Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi and some others as part of this investigation. (Agencies)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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