Stories
Chhattisgarh CD Scandal: Bhupesh Baghel's Political Journey from Jail to CM Chair
- •The 2017 'sex CD scandal' rocked Chhattisgarh politics, intensifying the verbal war between the ruling party and the opposition and impacting Bhupesh Baghel's political life.
- •The controversy began in October 2017 when a controversial CD, allegedly featuring BJP minister Rajesh Munat, went viral, leading to an FIR and later a CBI investigation.
- •Bhupesh Baghel, then Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee president, led the opposition's charge against the government, demanding the minister's resignation.
- •The CBI accused Bhupesh Baghel of conspiracy in the CD scandal, leading to his judicial custody in September 2018, which he refused to appeal.
- •Baghel's arrest galvanized Congress workers, contributing to the party's landslide victory in the 2018 assembly elections, after which he became Chief Minister.
- •In 2023, a special CBI court acquitted Baghel, but the acquittal was later challenged, and the case remains ongoing in the High Court.
Key Questions Answered
The Chhattisgarh sex CD scandal erupted in October 2017 when a controversial CD surfaced on social media, claiming to feature then-BJP minister Rajesh Munat. The minister completely rejected the allegations, calling the video fake and tampered with, prompting an initial police FIR and subsequent CBI investigation.
At the time of the scandal, Bhupesh Baghel served as the president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee and led protests demanding the minister's resignation. The CBI later accused him of conspiring to create, distribute, and blackmail using the CD, leading to his brief judicial custody in September 2018.
After initially being acquitted by a special CBI court in 2023, that acquittal order was later canceled. Baghel subsequently challenged the special court's framing of charges against him in the High Court, which granted him interim relief by staying further trial court proceedings.
