Central agencies being misused to target oppn leaders, but will cooperate: Baghel on ED action
Raipur, Jul 18 (PTI) Amid the Enforcement Directorate's action against his son in an alleged liquor scam-linked money laundering case, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said central agencies were being misused to target opposition leaders.
The ED arrested the senior Congress leader's son, Chaitanya Baghel, from his residence in Bhilai town in Durg district. He was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following fresh raids at his home, where he resides with his father.
Baghel said, "To please their master, PM Modi and Amit Shah have sent the ED to my house. We won't be scared or bow down. Bhupesh Baghel won't be afraid. We will fight the battle of truth."
"On one hand, in Bihar, voters are being removed (from the voters list) with the help of the Election Commission...democracy is being stripped, and on the other hand, they are misusing the ED, IT, CBI, DRI to suppress opposition leaders. But now, people of the country have understood and are well aware," he told reporters outside his Bhillai residence.
The Congress leader said, "The ED had come in the past as well and raided my place and found Rs 33 lakh in my house. Now they have come again. What does this mean? We will fully cooperate, whether they trust or not, we believe in democracy and the judiciary. They (BJP) are misusing the agency, but we will cooperate with them."
He further questioned the timing of the raid, which coincided with Chaitanya's birthday.
"Nobody in any democracy in the world can give a birthday gift like the one Modi and Shah have given. On my birthday, both the most respected leaders sent the ED to the houses of my advisor and two OSDs. And now, on my son Chaitanya's birthday, an ED team is raiding my house. Thanks for these gifts. I will remember them for life," he said.
Chaitanya was produced in a special court in Raipur.
Talking to PTI Videos in the court premises, Baghel said, "You all are aware that Adani wanted to do mining and cut forest, and the Congress party has been creating obstacles in this. The action is being taken due to this."
Baghel and Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant reached the court premises after boycotting the state Assembly proceedings, alleging that the central probe agency has been trying to harass the opposition leaders and their family members.
Earlier, Baghel, in a post on X, said the ED came to his home on the last day of the assembly session when the issue of trees being felled for a coal mine project of the Adani Group in Tamnar tehsil of Raigarh district was to be raised.
He visited the tehsil earlier this month and extended support to local villagers who have been protesting against tree felling for a coal mine project in the area.
The mine is allotted to Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MAHAGENCO), which has contracted the MDO (mine developer cum operator) to the Adani group.
The ED has claimed that Chaitanya was suspected to be the "recipient" of the proceeds from the alleged liquor scam.
It has been said that the "scam" resulted in a "massive loss" to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate with over Rs 2,100 crore.
In this case, the ED, in January, arrested former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma, besides 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.
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'Go back to your own country': Indian-origin taxi driver attacked in Dublin
London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.
Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.
Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".
"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.
"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.
A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.
"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.
The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.
"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.
“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.
It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.
The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.
“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.
A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.
Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.
The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.
His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.
“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.
Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.
“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.
Another violent anti-Indian attack in Ireland
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) August 5, 2025
Taxi driver Lakhvir Singh was attacked with glass bottles while doing his job pic.twitter.com/mtkwhLWISx
