Raipur, 10 Mar 

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided the premises of former Chhattisgarh chief minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel as part of a money laundering investigation against his son in the alleged liquor scam case, official sources said.

The premises of Bhupesh Baghel's son-- Chaitanya Baghel-- in Bhillai (Durg district), an alleged close associate of Chaitanya Baghel, Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu Bansal, and some others also being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

Chaitanya Baghel shares the Bhillai accommodation with his father and hence the premises are being covered. He (Chaitanya Baghel) is suspected to the "recipient" of the proceeds of crime of the liquor scam, they said

About 14-15 premises are being raided in the state, they said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier said the Chhattisgarh liquor "scam" resulted in "massive loss" to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate with more than Rs 2,100 crore of proceeds of crime.

The ED had arrested former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma in this case in January apart from 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.

The alleged liquor scam in the central Indian state, as per the ED, was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was ruled by a Congress government led by CM Baghel.

Assets worth about Rs 205 crore of various accused have been attached by the agency as part of this investigation till now.