RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh high court has rejected the petition filed by former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel’s son, Chaitanya Baghel, challenging his arrest by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to a liquor scam.Chaitanya had sought the court’s direction to quash his arrest dated July 18, alleging that the arrest and related actions were arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional. The HC rejected his arguments.The ED investigation began based on complaints and reports from other agencies, including Income Tax department, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), and Economic Offences Wing (EOW), between 2022 and 2024.ED conducted a detailed search at Baghel’s premises on Mar 10 and recorded reasons to believe that Chaitanya was involved in money laundering. However, the arrest was delayed by over four months and was precipitated primarily based on statements from a co-accused, Lakshmi Narayan Bansal, who remains at large despite a permanent arrest warrant issued against him on May 19.The petitioner’s counsel argued that there was no necessity to arrest Baghel as he was never summoned to cooperate in the investigation.
