New Delhi: The son of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel allegedly used his influence to try and secure contracts for his friends and family, including a coal supply deal for his brother-in-law, according to a charge sheet in the excise policy case filed by the state’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
The allegations came as the EOW filed its eighth charge sheet in what is referred to as the Rs 3,500-crore excise policy “scam”.
The excise policy probe gathered steam months after the Vishnu Deo Sai-led BJP government assumed office in 2023. EOW filed an FIR in January 2024 against 70 individuals and entities, including then excise minister Kawasi Lakhma and top officials of the previous government.
In the latest charge sheet, filed on Monday, EOW alleged that Bhupesh Baghel’s son Chaitanya was a “controlling player” who pocketed Rs 200-250 crore while his father was governing the state from 2018 to 2023.
Chaitanya has been in ED, EOW or in judicial custody since his arrest in the cases linked to the alleged excise policy ‘scam’ in July.
Advocate Faisal Rizvi, representing Chaitanya, told ThePrint Tuesday that EOW’s entire case against his client has been built on statements of the accused. “This vague reference to his brother-in-law and alleged attempts to influence contracts is nothing but a move to prejudice the case further,” he said.
To make its case on Chaitanya’s influence, EOW cited chat messages between accused former government officials Anil Tuteja and Saumya Chaurasia as evidence of the alleged conspiracy to benefit Chaitanya’s brother-in-law through contracts at the Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), a Vedanta-run firm in Korba district of the state.
Chaitanya is referred to as “Bittu” in the chats, it said.
“The chat messages prove that Saumya Chaurasia and Anil Tuteja were attempting to secure a coal supply contract at BALCO Korba for Bittu’s brother-in-law. Soumya repeatedly used phrases like ‘jija ji wala kaam tha (it was the brother-in-law’s work)’ and ‘Bittu’, making it clear that the entire proposal came from Chaitanya alias Bittu, and that he was the main person behind this endeavour,” the EOW said in the charge sheet, a copy of which ThePrint has seen.
Tuteja, a 2003-batch IAS officer, served as joint secretary in the state’s industry and commerce department, while Chaurasia was deputy secretary in the chief minister’s office during Baghel’s tenure.
Out on bail in the excise policy case, Tuteja is currently in judicial custody after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in another case. Chaurasiya was arrested by ED in the same excise policy case last week and is in the central agency’s custody.
The EOW has not named Baghel’s son-in-law in the charge sheet.
The EOW alleged that Tuteja was expected to leverage his contacts with BALCO officials to facilitate the arrangement. “Tuteja was expected to use his contacts/influence with BALCO officials to facilitate this supply arrangement through the proper channels, which proves that Bittu, Soumya Chaurasia, and Anil Tuteja were colluding to misuse their influence and informal networks to benefit their close relatives in government/public sector undertakings (BALCO),” the charge sheet read.
It further claimed the chat messages revealed a systematic pattern of contract manipulation across multiple sectors.
“This chat, combined with other previously available chats, reveals a pattern where Bittu consistently sent messages to Soumya Chaurasia and Anil Tuteja to secure contracts/supply work in various departments and companies (cement, BALCO, municipal corporation, etc.) for his close associates (friends, relatives, etc.), and the two of them would follow up on these matters,” the charge sheet noted.
The EOW also identified a person named Probir as Chaitanya’s “financial handler”, who allegedly managed cash investments, collections and accommodation entries on his behalf. Chaitanya allegedly helped Probir secure a transportation contract at Shree Cement during his father’s tenure, the EOW claimed.
Probir’s father was also awarded a contract with the Breveski liquor company through Chaitanya’s intervention, according to the charge sheet.
“This shows Bittu’s role not merely as a ‘beneficiary’, but as a ‘controlling player’ who invests and launders money through his network. Saumya Chaurasia is acting as a messenger/facilitator between Bittu and Anil Tuteja,” the charge sheet said.
Similarly, the EOW also describes Tuteja as a key accused in the liquor scam. “Anil Tuteja, in addition to his already established role as a key accused in the liquor scam, appears in this chat agreeing to use his influence in the transportation work related to Shree Cement (‘I’ll try’). This indicates that Tuteja was using his position and contacts to provide business benefits to private individuals (Probir and his contacts) at the behest of Bittu and Saumya,” the chargesheet said.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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