Congress Leader Bhupesh Baghel Set To Face Trial In 2017 Fake Sex CD Case After Special CBI Court Reverses Ex-Chhattisgarh CM's Acquittal: Report

Raipur: In a major setback for former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, a Special CBI Court in Raipur on Saturday reportedly reversed a magistrate court’s order that had acquitted the former Chhattisgarh CM in the 2017 obscene video case linked to the alleged defamation of former state cabinet minister and BJP leader Rajesh Munat.

The special court reversed the earlier magisterial order in the case of the obscene video purportedly showing Munat, who was then serving as Public Works Department (PWD) minister in the Raman Singh-led Chhattisgarh government.

The court also rejected the appeals filed by other accused,Kailash Murarka, Vinod Verma and Vijay Bhatia, who had challenged the trial court’s order framing charges against them.

What Does the Reversal Mean?

The reversal by the special CBI court means Baghel will have to face trial in the case until he obtains relief from a higher court.

About the Case

The case dates back to 2017, when Munat accused Baghel of creating sexually explicit videos allegedly showing him to tarnish his reputation. Chhattisgarh Police registered two separate FIRs in 2017 based on separate complaints filed by Munat and BJP leader Prakash Bajaj.

The cases were later transferred to the CBI by the then BJP government in Chhattisgarh. The CBI subsequently filed a chargesheet and a supplementary chargesheet in the case.

The first case was registered at Pandri police station in Raipur on 26 October 2017 against unknown persons on the allegation that the complainant (Bajaj) received a call on his phone wherein an unidentified caller said that he possessed a pornographic video of his “aaka" (master) and threatened to share it in case his demand of ransom was not met," a CBI spokesperson had said.

The other case was registered at Civil Lines police station in Raipur on 27 October 2017, against the then Chhattisgarh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel and senior journalist Vinod Verma on the allegation that they had shared Munat’s fake pornographic video to various social media platforms to malign his image and gain political mileage. Verma and Baghel denied the allegations.

The matter came to light when Verma was arrested by the Chhattisgarh Police from his Ghaziabad residence in October 2017 for alleged blackmail and extortion in the case.

When Verma was being escorted by the police, he alleged that the state government suspected that he had a “sex CD of h Munat" and claimed he was being framed.