ED grants more time to Sanjay Raut, asks to appear on July 1 in Patra Chawl land case

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was not available on Tuesday due to his planned visit to Alibaug (Raigad district), following which his lawyer reached the ED's office around 11.15 am to seek some more time, the official said.

Mumbai:The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday sent a second summons to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, asking him to appear before them on July 1 in connection with the Patra Chawl land redevelopment case. While Raut was supposed to appear before the agency on Tuesday, he is currently on a visit to Alibaug in Maharashtra's Raigad district. Representing the leader, his lawyer approached the agency at around 11:15 am to seek more time.

"The ED had requested some documents, but it was not possible to bring the documents in such a short time. So we have asked them for 14 more days," the lawyer said. The summons is in relation to the alleged transactional irregularities in the redevelopment project. Back in April, the ED had attached immovable properties worth Rs 11.15 crore, including an apartment in Mumbai's Dadar area by the MP's wife Varsha Raut, as well as eight plots of land in Alibaug held jointly by the latter with Swapna Patkar- the wife of Raut's associate Sujit Patkar.

The summons comes amid chaos in Shiv Sena quarters, as the party faces an increasing divide between two groups - that under CM Uddhav Thackeray's leadership, and a dissident faction currently based in Guwahati and led by rebel MLA Eknath Shinde. Last year, Varsha Raut had also been questioned by the ED under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) in relation to her alleged involvement in the Rs 4,300 crore PMC bank money laundering case.