Sanjay Raut Arrested in Land Scam Case; Sena MP Says 'Jhukega Nahi', Alleges Political Vendetta

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) early on Monday in connection with a money laundering case involving alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai ‘chawl‘. The Sena leader was initially detained a day ago, hours after an ED team, which arrived at his Mumbai bungalow ‘Maitri’ at 7am accompanied by CRPF personnel, conducted raids at his home.

The Sena leader was taken to the ED zonal office for interrogation shortly after 5 pm. Sources said Raut was not cooperating as needed with the agency.

Sources said Rs 11.50 lakh unaccounted cash was seized from the Sena leader’s residence.

Raut, however, denied any wrongdoing and claimed that he was a victim of political vendetta. Speaking to CNN-News18, Raut said, “They (ED) can keep me in custody as long as they want. I will prove the allegations wrong.”

After reaching the ED office, Raut said he would continue to fight. Putting up a brave front, the Sena MP said, Jhukega nahi (won’t bow down). “False charges and documents are being framed against people. All of this is being done to weaken Shiv Sena and Maharashtra. Sanjay Raut won’t be cowed down. I will not leave the party,” he asserted.

Raut’s lawyer Vikrant Sabne told reporters that there was no question of any seizure as they have already submitted relevant documents. “We’ve accepted fresh summons, Sanjay Raut has been brought for questioning. They (ED) already took documents that they felt were important. Some property documents were seized. But, no documents related to Patra Chawl were taken by them,” he said.

Raut was previously summoned by the investigation agency on July 20 in the Patra Chawl land scam case, which he skipped and informed his lawyers that due to the ongoing Parliament session, he could only appear after August 7. On July 1, he recorded his statement for the first time. In this case, the ED had attached Raut’s properties in Dadar and Alibag.

The agency wanted to question Raut about his “business and other links” with Pravin Raut, as well as about his wife’s property deals, sources said.

Sources earlier also added that ED officials didn’t allow anybody in the Raut family to speak on the phone. They said documents were sought by the team, and that the family has not been informed about the next course of action.

Amid the developments, Raut also sent out of a tweet, saying: “Maharashtra and Shiv Sena will continue to fight”. Later, he called it a ‘false case, false evidence’. “I have nothing to do with any scam. I am saying this by taking the oath of Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray..Balasaheb taught us to fight…I will continue to fight for Shiv Sena,” he said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, commenting on the matter, said: “the investigation is underway. 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.”

What is the Patra Chawl Land Scam Case?

Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd signed an agreement with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) in 2007 to provide new homes to 672 tenants of Patra Chawl in Mumbai’s suburban area of Goregaon, then develop flats for MHADA and sell the remaining area to private developers.

However, the ED claims that Pravin Raut and the other directors of Guru Ashish Constructions did not build a single house for the 672 displaced tenants. They actually sold the floor space index to nine private developers for Rs 901.79 crore.

In addition, Guru Ashish Constructions launched a project called The Meadows and received bookings worth approximately Rs 138 crore from flat buyers. According to the ED, Guru Ashish Constructions’ total proceeds of crime from these “illegal activities” amount to Rs 1,039.79 crore.

What Does ED Say

According to the ED, their investigations revealed that Pravin received Rs 100 crore from HDIL and “diverted” it to various accounts of “his close associates, family members, and business entities,” including Sanjay Raut’s family.

The ED also stated that in 2010, Varsha Raut received Rs 83 lakh in criminal proceeds directly or indirectly from Madhuri Raut, Pravin Raut’s wife. Varsha Raut used this money to purchase a Dadar apartment. It was also revealed that after the ED investigation was launched, Varsha Raut transferred Rs 55 lakh to Madhuri Raut. There are also a number of other transactions,” the ED said.

“During the said period, eight plots of land at Kihim beach in Alibaug were also purchased in the names of Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Sujit Patkar, a close associate of Sanjay Raut. In this land deal, apart from the registered value, cash payments were made to the sellers. On identification of these assets and other assets of Pravin Raut, a provisional attachment order attaching all these assets of Pravin Raut and his associates has been issued,” the ED had earlier said, according to reports.

(With PTI inputs)

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