After hours-long ED raid, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut arrested in money laundering case

Credits: PTI

New Delhi: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was arrested late on Sunday (July 31, 2022) night after hours-long raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case related to the redevelopment of Mumbai's Patra Chawl and related transactions involving his wife and others. Sanjay Raut’s brother Sunil Raut claimed that his brother was arrested by ED in the late hours of Sunday. Claiming Raut’s arrest, his brother Sunil said that he will be produced before the court on Monday.

“Sanjay Raut has been arrested. The BJP is afraid of him and got him arrested. They haven’t given us any documents (regarding his arrest). He has been framed. He will be produced in court tomorrow at 11.30 am,” claimed Sunil Raut on Sunday.

During the hours-long raid, ED officials seized Rs 11.50 lakhs unaccounted cash from the residence of Raut earlier in the day.

Earlier, on Sunday evening, the Shiv Sena MP was detained by ED in connection with the Patra Chawl land scam case after hours of raids at his residence in Mumbai, however, Sanjay Raut’s counsel said earlier in the day that his client was neither detained nor arrested.

“ED has given a fresh summon to Sanjay Raut, today morning. On that basis, Sanjay Raut has come to the ED office to record the statement. He has neither been arrested nor detained,” Raut’s counsel had said.

ED officials reached Shiv Sena MP’s residence around 7 am on Sunday and conducted the raid.

Meanwhile, while speaking to reporters, soon after the ED officials detained him in connection with the Patra Chawl land scam case, Raut said, “he won’t be cowed 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,” Raut said. 

On June 28 this year, Sanjay Raut was summoned by ED in connection with the prevention of the money laundering case pertaining to the Rs 1,034 crore Patra Chawl land scam. Refusing to join the probe and citing the Monsoon Session of Parliament as a reason for not joining the probe, he had then dared the probe agency to arrest him. Later, he reached the ED office.

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 agency inputs)