Raipur
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, in a money laundering case linked to the alleged liquor scam, coal scam, and Mahadev app case. He has been remanded to five-day ED custody by a Raipur court. The ED alleges that Chaitanya laundered money through hawala operators and invested funds across states. The arrest follows raids and evidence collection from March and July 2025.
Chaitanya, active in real estate but not formally in politics, has previously faced scrutiny in other cases but had not been arrested until now.
The ED has accused Chaitanya Baghel of money laundering through hawala operators in connection with the alleged liquor scam, coal scam, and the Mahadev app case.
ED officials gathered evidence after questioning Chaitanya Baghel’s close associates. The ED’s investigation into the Chhattisgarh liquor scam, coal scam, and Mahadev app case led to raids by ED officials in Bastar, Bhilai, and Raipur on 10 March 2025.
These operations targeted the premises of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, businessman Pappu Bansal, liquor businessman Vijay Agrawal, and other business owners. During these raids, ED officials seized documents, pen drives, and other electronic devices. They also interrogated Pappu Bansal and businessman Vijay Agrawal.
After reviewing the electronic devices, pen drives, and statements from the businessmen, the ED raided Bhupesh Baghel’s residence again on 18 July and arrested Chaitanya Baghel.
The ED informed the court that it found financial records worth crores at the businessmen’s locations, along with evidence indicating that money was routed to Chaitanya Baghel through Pappu Bansal and hotelier Agrawal. This money was then allegedly invested by Chaitanya Baghel in various states with the help of hawala operators.
The ED gathered evidence against Chaitanya from the 10 March raid and another raid conducted on 15 July at the hotelier’s premises.
The hotelier, whose premises were raided by the ED, had also attended the wedding of a Mahadev app financier in Rajasthan. This hotelier reportedly provided information about Chaitanya Baghel’s links to the Mahadev app.
Chaitanya Baghel’s name first surfaced in 2023 in connection with various alleged scams. During the Chhattisgarh assembly elections that year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused Chaitanya Baghel of misusing state resources.
Prime Minister Modi stated that Chaitanya Baghel was acting like a “Super CM” during the Congress government’s tenure and operating a business network in the state. In his speech, PM Modi alleged, “Bhupesh Baghel’s son, playing the role of ‘Super CM,’ oppressed the public to such an extent that it became difficult for the Chief Minister himself to be re-elected as an MLA.”
According to sources close to the Baghel family, Chaitanya received his early education at Maharishi Vidya Mandir in Raipur. He then pursued a BCom from Shankara University in Bhilai and an MBA from Bhilai Institute of Technology.
He established a strong presence in the business sector, though his entry into politics remained limited to planning. Chaitanya is associated with the Congress but has not yet held any formal organisational responsibility. Chaitanya is active in the real estate sector. His firm has developed two residential townships, Vitthalpuram and Vitthalgreens, in Bhilai, Durg district.
Chaitanya’s entry into politics was proposed during the Baghel government’s term, but internal conflicts within the Congress prevented its implementation. Sources indicate that “when Bhupesh Baghel was nominated as a candidate from Rajnandgaon in the last Lok Sabha elections, there was consideration to field Chaitanya Baghel from the Patan assembly seat, but circumstances were not favourable even then.”
Chaitanya has faced legal scrutiny before. In July 2024, he was questioned during the investigation into an attack on Professor Vinod Sharma of Khubchand Baghel PG College. His name has come under investigation in both cases, but no concrete action has been taken in either matter so far.
