The Chhattisgarh government accused ED of acting at the behest of its “political masters” and said its actions were politically motivated to target Bhagel
The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in response to a Chhattisgarh government application accusing the agency of coercing 52 officers of the state excise department to make statements implicating chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and other top functionaries in an alleged liquor scam. The court also sought the ED’s response to Chhattisgarh excise commissioner Niranjan Das’s petition alleging harassment despite cooperating with the agency’s probe into the alleged scam. Additional solicitor-general SV Raju, who appeared for ED, opposed the application of the state government and accused it of protecting its officials. He sought to present his arguments in an affidavit.
The senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Dave, who appeared for Das and the other accused, said that the court entertained writ petitions other accused filed in the same case and requested similar orders. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented the state government, pointed out that in the May 17 matter, the court entertained the state’s impleadment application as ED’s investigation lacked jurisdiction. ED claimed the money laundering case in the alleged liquor scam was linked to a 2022 income tax department charge sheet filed against bureaucrat Anil Tuteja and others in a Delhi court. The state government accused ED of acting at the behest of its “political masters” and said its actions were politically motivated to target Bhagel.
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