STORM AT BAGHEL'S DOOR

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel finds himself in the eye of a political storm, as two central agencies target him with investigations that have set Chhattisgarh's political temperature rising—despite elections still being far off.

- Rahul Noronha

First, on March 10, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) commenced searches at his premises in Durg, where Baghel and his son Chaitanya live, as well as at 13 other locations across the state. The searches were related to a case concerning what is known as the 'liquor scam'. The operation concluded later in the evening, with the ED not officially disclosing its findings. However, the visuals of ED staff bringing in a currency note-counting machine in the afternoon, followed by Baghel loyalists pelting stones at ED personnel as they exited the premises, added to the drama.

A little more than two weeks later, on March 26, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) came knocking in connection with its probe into the Mahadev betting scam. A total of 60 locations across Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal were searched, in addition to the premises of three IPS officers—Anand Chhabra, Abhishek Pallav and Arif Sheikh—and Baghel's two former OSDs (officers on special duty), including Saumya Chaurasia.