Ex-CM Baghel's son got Rs 250 crore as his share from Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam': Chargesheet
RAIPUR: Chaitanya, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, received Rs 200 crore to Rs 250 crore as his share from an alleged liquor scam in the state, the Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offence Wing (ACB/EOW) has claimed in its chargesheet. The state police's ACB/EOW, in its seventh supplementary chargesheet in the multi-crore liquor scam filed before a special court here on Monday, claimed Chaitanya Baghel played a key role in establishing, coordinating, and protecting an extortion racket (syndicate) within the excise department (during the previous Congress government, which was in office from 2018-23). The voluminous document, running into around 3,800 pages, has named Chaitnaya Baghel as an accused in the alleged scam pegged at more than Rs 3,000 crore, an ACB/EOW statement said. With this, a total of eight chargesheets have been filed in the case so far. The latest chargesheet details the current status of the investigation against the arrested accused, along with digital evidence reports about all those in custody. The document also outlines the progress of the ongoing probe against the accused persons. The statement quoting the chargesheet said Chaitanya Baghel acted as coordinator among officials such as Anil Tuteja, Soumya Chaurasia, Arunpati Tripathi, and Niranjan Das, who worked in line with the syndicate's interests at the administrative level and as ground-level operatives of the network, such as Anwar Dhebar, Arvind Singh, and Vikas Agarwal (all co-accused), and issued instructions to them. Chaitanya Baghel worked through his trusted associates to transfer and manage proceeds of the scam collected by businessman Anwar Dhebar's team, moving the funds to higher levels, it claimed. He allegedly received his share of the proceeds through various firms belonging to liquor businessman Trilok Singh Dhillon, transferring it through banking channels to his family firms and using it in real estate projects. Furthermore, he was also found to have received and invested large sums of money generated out of the scam through banking channels via his family members, friends, and associates, the chargesheet claimed. The probe agency said, Evidence indicates that Chaitanya, along with managing the proceeds of the crime at a higher level, received around Rs 200 crore-Rs 250 crore as his share. The investigation has also revealed that high-level protection, policy/administrative intervention, and influence provided to the syndicate by Chaitanya Baghel enabled this crime to be perpetrated for a long period, it claimed. The ongoing investigation suggests the amount involved in the liquor scam is estimated to be approximately Rs 3,074 crore. However, further investigation suggests the total amount of the proceeds of crime generated out of the alleged scam could exceed Rs 3,500 crore, it added. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the money laundering angle in the alleged scam, arrested Chaitanya Baghel on July 18 following a search at his house, which he shares with his father, a Congress politician, in Bhilai town of Durg district. As per the ED's prosecution complaint (chargesheet) filed earlier, Chaitanya Baghel handled more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of proceeds of crime generated from a liquor scam in the state. The central agency has stated that the alleged scam resulted in a massive loss to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate. The scam was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when then-CM Bhupesh Baghel headed the Congress government in Chhattisgarh. Money was illegally collected from every bottle of liquor sold in Chhattisgarh (between 2019 and 2022), said the anti-money laundering agency. Chaitanya Baghel was arrested by the ACB/EOW in September while he was in jail under judicial custody. The ED in January arrested former excise minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma, businessman Anwar Dhebar (brother of Congress leader and former Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar), former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi and a few others as part of their probe in the case. The EOW/ACB registered an FIR on January 17, 2024, in the alleged scam, naming 70 individuals and companies, including Lakhma and former chief secretary Vivek Dhand. After his son was arrested, former CM Baghel claimed that the action was taken because the Congress, during its rule, tried to stop the cutting of forests and mining activities in the state. The Congress leader also alleged that the probe agencies were being misused to target Opposition leaders.
RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has signed MoUs with six state universities to launch a new academic course named Rakshak Curriculum that will focus on child rights and protection. Cited to be the first academic programme of its kind in India, the initiative is a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Child Rights & Protection. Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that Rakshak Curriculum will play a significant role in creating a safer and more responsible future for students. The course will generate job opportunities creating trained professionals equipped to work in the given stream of child rights and protection. Its our collective responsibility to guide children who fall into vulnerable citations owing to innocence back on the right path, he added. The curriculum is described as a milestone in developing compassionate, aware and service-oriented youth. Until now, no university offered a curriculum dedicated to child rights and protection alongside the career opportunities. Realising the need, the Commission has developed 'Rakshak Curriculum that will provide students with theoretical and legal knowledge, understanding of government schemes and institutions, insights into departmental processes, and practical exposure to child protection units, a government spokesperson said. Designed to cultivate awareness and emotional sensitivity, the programme will build efficient, committed and trained human resources for the field. Training, mentorship and course support will be provided to universities free of cost by the Commission. The universities that have entered into the agreement to run the course are Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, Sant Gahira Guru University, Surguja, Kushabhau Thakre University of Journalism & Mass Communication, Raipur, Anjaneya University, Raipur, Amity University, Raipur, Shri Shankaracharya Professional University, Bhilai-Durg. During the signing of an MoU, the CM elucidated that with over 350 administrative reforms enacted, Chhattisgarh is progressing swiftly on the path of good governance. In the same sequence, the state government has also set up the Department of Good Governance and Convergence.
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Excavator operator stripped, assaulted at stone quarry in Chhattisgarh; seven booked
BALRAMPUR: An excavator machine operator was allegedly stripped, tied up and brutally assaulted by seven persons after being accused of stealing diesel in Chhattisgarh's Balrampur district, police said on Saturday. A video of the assault, which has surfaced on social media, shows a group of people kicking and thrashing a man stripped to his undergarments with his hands and legs tied with a scarf. An official said a case was registered on Friday in connection with the assault that took place at a stone quarry in Bhilai Khurd village under the Bariyo police chowki limits on November 4. The victim, Vinod Sarthi (25), a resident of Baghima village, was employed as a poclain operator at a stone crusher unit in Bhilai Khurd for the last three years. According to the official, Sarthi, in his complaint, has alleged that on the day of the incident, Sanjay Pradhan, the accountant of another stone crusher unit, arrived at the quarry with his associates Ravishankar, JP Yadav, Monu Das, Ramlal, Deepak Agrawal and another person and started verbally abusing and thrashing him after accusing him of stealing diesel. The victim claimed that the accused stripped him and tied his hands and legs with a scarf before punching and kicking him inside a room, he said. Sarathi has further alleged that his associate Varun Sharma was also stripped and assaulted by the accused, he said. The official said that four of the accused have been taken into custody and a case has been registered under relevant provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Chhattisgarh to embark on plan to create integrated capital region covering four cities
RAIPUR: The BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh government will venture into a major development plan next month, to create the State Capital Region (SCR) after Governor Ramen Deka approved a bill passed during the last monsoon session in the Assembly. The concept for the establishment of Chhattisgarh Capital Region, said to be on similar lines of the National Capital Region, will incorporate four citiesRaipur, Nava Raipur, Bhilai-Durg under one integrated development master plan. The notification on the SCR has been issued with a publication in the state gazette. According to the notification, the entire plan has been divided into nine zones, explaining in detail when, what and how the various works are going to be accomplished while carrying out simultaneous development of the four cities. The state NITI Ayog has elucidated the development plan for cities to be integrated as SCR in the vision document 'Chhattisgarh Anjor 2047.' The planned urbanisation programme will give priority to 13 major areas, including education, healthcare, transport, information technology, business, tourism, skill training, and modern infrastructure. The development of SCR will further serve as the growth engine for the state's economy as well. It will boost the scope of industrial investment, and expedite possibilities of urban development and employment in the region, said Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. The issuing of notification makes way for the setting up of a Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA). The SCR will integrate 23 civic bodies and around 700 villages, an official said. A well-planned survey and conceiving a detailed project report (DPR) for SCR remain in focus to ensure efficient public services for the population that is expected to exceed 50 lakh by 2031. To meet the growing demand of urbanisation and rising population pressure, the CRDA will work similarly to the NCR Planning Board, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, he added. The chief minister will serve as the chairperson of the CRDA and the authority will have ministers of urban administration and development, housing and environment, and public works department, along with the state's chief secretary and secretaries from key departments. The urban population of Chhattisgarh is stated to be around 27 per cent and this is expected to touch 45 per cent in 2047. The process of land acquisition and the development in the SCR will be done by the CRDA after it comes into existence. The creation of SCR, envisioned as a growth engine in the state, was among the pledges declared by the ruling BJP in its 2023 Assembly poll manifesto.
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