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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
NEW DELHI: Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched a scathing attack on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) following his name surfacing in the agency’s recent second charge sheet related to the Mahadev betting app case investigation.
Baghel’s reaction stemmed from Asim Das’s jail-recorded statement, where Das refuted claims of delivering money to politicians or their affiliates, asserting he was manipulated and falsely implicated. Baghel questioned the ED’s assertion that Das retracted his previous statement, insinuating external influence behind this sudden reversal.
“Asim Das, who was nabbed with the money had in his handwritten statement from jail that he was deceived and implicated and that he never delivered money to any politician or people associated with them. Now, the ED is claiming that he has withdrawn his statement where he said he was deceived. Everyone knows under whose pressure all this is happening,” Baghel said.
The ED, on January 1, presented its second prosecution complaint to a Raipur special court, highlighting Asim Das, an alleged courier initially denying cash deliveries to Baghel, now retracting his denial. Das, previously maintaining he was deceived and wrongly accused, now stands as a pivotal figure in the evolving case.
The charge sheet emerged amid swirling accusations of bribes, totalling around ₹508 crore, exchanged between Mahadev App promoters and recipients, further complicating the ongoing probe.
Sources familiar with the matter hinted at a potential summons for the Congress leader by the ED, heightening scrutiny around Baghel’s involvement in the investigation.
Baghel levelled grave accusations against the law agency, alleging fraudulent arrests, physical assaults, threats, and coercion to extract incriminating statements against him and his associates. He reiterated earlier claims about the ED’s aggressive tactics, pointing to the latest developments as a testament to their malicious agenda.
“We have been saying from the beginning that ED has been using assault and threats and pressuring (accused in the case) to frame me and my associates. This has become very clear from the new ED document,” he added.
