Patra Chawl land scam case: ED arrests Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut; seizes Rs 11.5 lakh in cash
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai 'chawl' after conducting a nine-hour search at his residence, during which Rs 11.5 lakh in cash was seized, officials said.
Raut, 60, was arrested after over six hours of questioning at the ED's zonal office in south Mumbai's Ballard Estate shortly after Sunday midnight.
He was taken into custody at 12:05 am on Monday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as he was not cooperating in the probe, the officials claimed.
The Rajya Sabha MP of the Sena, led by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, will be produced before a special PMLA court in Mumbai later in the day, where the Enforcement Directorate will seek his custody.
An agency team had on Sunday reached his residence in Mumbai's Bhandup area, where they conducted a search, questioned Raut, and by evening, summoned him for questioning at the agency's local office.
The team also seized Rs 11.5 lakh in cash during the search, the officials said.
Before entering the ED office, Raut told reporters that the federal agency's action was aimed at trying to weaken the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra and that a "false" case was prepared against him.
The ED probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra 'chawl' and related financial property transactions involving his wife and alleged associates.
In April, the ED provisionally attached assets worth over Rs 11.15 crore belonging to his wife Varsha Raut and two of his associates as part of this investigation.
The attached properties are in the form of land held by Pravin M Raut, Sanjay Raut's aide and a former director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, at Palghar, Saphale (town in Palghar) and Padgha (in Thane district).
These assets also include a flat in Mumbai's suburb Dadar held by Varsha Raut and eight plots at Kihim beach in Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Sujit Patkar, a "close associate" of Sanjay Raut, the ED had said.
The agency is understood to have questioned the Sena leader about his "business and other links" with Pravin Raut and Patkar and also about the property deals involving his wife.
Before entering the ED office, Raut told reporters that the federal agency's action was aimed at trying to weaken the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra and that a "false" case was prepared against him.
The ED probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra 'chawl' and related financial property transactions involving his wife and alleged associates.
In April, the ED provisionally attached assets worth over Rs 11.15 crore belonging to his wife Varsha Raut and two of his associates as part of this investigation.
The attached properties are in the form of land held by Pravin M Raut, Sanjay Raut's aide and a former director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, at Palghar, Saphale (town in Palghar) and Padgha (in Thane district).
These assets also include a flat in Mumbai's suburb Dadar held by Varsha Raut and eight plots at Kihim beach in Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Sujit Patkar, a "close associate" of Sanjay Raut, the ED had said.
The agency is understood to have questioned the Sena leader about his "business and other links" with Pravin Raut and Patkar and also about the property deals involving his wife.
Raut claimed he was being framed based on "false evidence" but won't bow down and quit the party, shortly before being herded into the south Mumbai office of the ED.
"They (ED) are going to arrest me. I am going to be arrested, Raut told reporters outside the ED office after he was brought there from his Bhandup residence. Zukega nahi (won't bow down)," Raut said, putting up a brave front.
He alleged that the ED action was aimed at trying to weaken Shiv Sena and Maharashtra and that a "false" case is prepared against him.
After the ED action began in the early morning, Raut tweeted that he will die, but will not surrender and never leave Shiv Sena.
At 7 am on Sunday, ED officials, accompanied by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, reached Raut's 'Maitri' bungalow of Raut and began the search.
The action follows two summonses issued by the ED against Raut, the latest being on July 27.
Raut was summoned for questioning by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the alleged irregularities in the re-development of a Mumbai 'chawl' and related transactions involving his wife and 'associates'.
He had appeared before the agency in Mumbai to record his statement on July 1 but after that, he skipped the two summonses issued by the agency citing the ongoing Parliament session.
The Rajya Sabha MP, who is a Uddhav Thackeray loyalist, had denied any wrongdoing and alleged that he was being targeted due to political vendetta.
"False action, false evidence. I will die, but will not surrender. I will never leave Shiv Sena. I swear by Balasaheb Thackeray that I am not involved in any scam. He taught us to fight and I will continue to fight for Shiv Sena," Raut tweeted.
At the ED office located in the Ballard Estate area of south Mumbai, a posse of policemen has been deployed. Roads leading to the agency office were kept shut for vehicles and barricades have been placed, an official said.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Ajit Pawar, wondered why the ED repeatedly wants to investigate Raut though many people had been served notices by the Income Tax department, CBI, and the ED.
Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said the ED action depicts a "sorry picture" of democracy and alleged that the BJP wants to "silence" all the Opposition parties.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule this issue will be raised in Parliament.
The ED, which took Pune-based businessman Avinash Bhosale into custody earlier in connection with the DHFL-Yes Bank case, wants to grill Raut in this matter too, as per sources. They claimed that Patra Chawl case of ED is also linked to the DHFL case.
In April, the ED provisionally attached assets worth over Rs 11.15 crore of Raut's wife Varsha Raut and two of his associates as part of this investigation.
The attached properties are in the form of land held by Pravin M Raut, Sanjay Raut's aide and a former director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, at Palghar, Saphale (town in Palghar) and Padgha (in Thane district).
The attached properties also include a flat in Mumbai's suburb Dadar held by Varsha Raut and eight plots at Kihim beach in Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Sujit Patkar, the ED said in a statement.
According to the ED, Sujit Patkar is a close associate of Sanjay Raut. After arresting Pravin Raut in February, the ED had said he appears to be "acting as a front" or in collusion with some influential person(s).
The agency had said during the probe it was revealed he made payments to certain "politically exposed persons".
(With ANI inputs)