The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted a search at the Bhilai residence of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, intensifying the political heat in the state on the final day of the monsoon session of the legislative assembly.
While the ED has not officially confirmed the specific case prompting the raid, the action comes months after Baghel’s family was linked to a high-profile liquor scam and the Mahadev betting app case.
Baghel’s office, reacting sharply, accused the Centre of political vendetta, stating the raid was timed to divert attention from a planned opposition protest in the Assembly over alleged illegal tree felling for an Adani project in Raigarh’s Tamnar tehsil.
“Today is the last day of the assembly session. The issue of trees being cut for Adani in Tamnar was to be raised. Saheb has sent ED to Bhilai Niwas,” read a post on Baghel’s official ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) account.
Ongoing Probe and Earlier Raids
Baghel shares the Bhilai residence with his son, Chaitanya Baghel, who had also been targeted by the ED earlier in connection with the Chhattisgarh liquor scam. The ED has accused Chaitanya of being a recipient of the scam’s illicit proceeds, part of an alleged ₹2,100 crore racket that caused a significant loss to the state exchequer.
In March 2025, the CBI also raided Baghel’s residence in relation to the Mahadev betting app investigation. At the time, Baghel alleged that the raids were staged to provide “political talking points” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his visit to the state on March 30.
With the latest ED action, Baghel’s camp has reiterated its claim that central agencies are being used selectively to target opposition leaders and suppress dissent.
