Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Sunday midnight after over six hours of questioning at the ED's zonal office in south Mumbai's Ballard Estate for his alleged involvement in the Patra Chawl's land scam case. According to sources, the Enforcement Directorate has also seized Rs 11.50 lakhs unaccounted cash from his residence. Raut 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 Sena leader was brought to the ED office in Mumbai, where he was seen waving his scarf and waving to the crowd. The action follows multiple summons issued by the ED against Raut. He was summoned for questioning by the ED in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the re-development of a Mumbai 'Chawl' and related transactions involving his wife and 'associates'.
Meanwhile, Rs 11.50 lakh of accounted cash was seized from Raut's residence by the ED officials during the raid on Sunday, said news agency ANI quoting sources. In contrast to all claims, however, the Sena leader's advocate Vikrant Sabne claimed later in the day that Raut had neither been detained nor was he arrested.
He further said that Raut had accepted the fresh summons issued by ED on Sunday morning and thus had gone to the agency's office to record his statement. "Some property documents were seized. No documents related to Patra Chawl were taken by them," Sabne further noted.
The Rajya Sabha MP, who is in the Uddhav Thackeray camp, had denied any wrongdoing and alleged that he was being targeted due to political vendetta. Raut's close aide and director of Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited, Praveen Raut, was arrested earlier. Raut, along with Rakesh Wadhawan, Sarang Wadhawan, and other directors of HDIL, sold the FSI proceeds from the redevelopment project to other construction developers. Earlier on July 1, Sanjay Raut was questioned by the ED for around 10 hours.
Also read: 'Hounded' by ED, Shiv Sena Dy. Leader flees to Eknath Shinde camp
Sanjay Raut put out a series of tweets in Marathi saying that he will not be deterred by the "false" raids by the probe agency and that the Shiv Sena will continue to fight on. "Balasaheb Thackeray has taught us to fight, I will continue to fight for Shiv Sena," he said in his tweets in Marathi.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said to the media that the investigation is underway and Sanjay Raut need not be afraid of anything if he has not done anything wrong. "If he hasn't done anything wrong, why is he scared? He was a big MVA leader. Just because one's scared of the ED, one shouldn't come to our party," he said. Earlier, Sanjay Raut who is also an Uddhav loyalist had accused the Shinde faction of the Sena to side with the BJP because of fear of getting investigated by the probe agencies.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar said to the media that Sanjay Raut is being investigated quite frequently. "Many people have received ED notices. Investigative agencies, be it ED, CBI, IT, or state agencies, most of them, conduct investigations when they receive complaints. In Sanjay Raut's case, it's happening repeatedly. So only he can tell the exact reason behind it," he said.
Speaking out about the development, Independent MP Navneet Rana said the decisive action by the central agency should have come earlier. "This step should have been taken months back. He (Raut) did not answer to summons they sent. Sometimes he said he was attending the Parliament session, while at other times he said he had just been discharged from the hospital, requesting later dates. Those who seek suitable dates and are unable to provide any explanation are the ones who have actually meddled in corruption" Rana said.
"Whether it is Patra Chawl or the Alibaug case, Sanjay Raut was functioning as the agent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. There are 25 to 30 companies where he is a business partner, and has indulged in corruption by joining hands with them. He has been tweeting out, saying the people of Maharashtra will fight. The people follow Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj here in Maharashtra, and they will indeed fight, but it will be a fight against him. I believe this investigation will end with him landing up behind bars" she further added.
