Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) shortly after July 31 midnight following a raid on his residence, was produced before a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Monday after a medical check-up at Mumbai’s J.J. Hospital.
Before entering the courtroom, Mr. Raut told the media that his arrest was a “conspiracy to finish the Shiv Sena”. His lawyer Ashok Mundargi argued that the MP’s arrest was politically motivated.
The ED had sought an eight-day custody of Mr. Raut, but the special court granted the agency only three days. The allegations against Mr. Raut concern the proposed redevelopment of the Patra chawl in Mumbai’s Goregaon. It has been alleged that the developers, among whom one was a close associate of the MP, fraudulently made ₹1,039.79 crore from this scheme from which Mr. Raut allegedly benefited as well.
Summoned four times
The ED, represented by special public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar, argued in the court that Mr. Raut had been summoned four times, but he appeared just once before the agency, and that in this while the MP allegedly “tried to tamper with the evidence and key witnesses.”
Mr. Venegaonkar told the court that Mr. Raut and his family were direct beneficiaries of the proceeds of the scam and that the probe had allegedly revealed that ₹1.06 crore had been transferred to the account of Mr. Raut and his wife, Varsha Raut.
Speaking after the court’s order, Mr. Raut’s brother Sunil Raut said: “We have full faith in the judiciary. He [Sanjay Raut] will soon come out of all this… The ED had asked custody for eight days, but the court has only granted the agency three days. Sanjay Raut is being arrested only for daring to speak out against the BJP and loyally supporting [Sena chief] Uddhav Thackeray.”
Meanwhile, in a show of solidarity to his confidant, Mr. Thackeray visited Mr. Raut’s residence and commiserated with the latter’s aged mother.
Later, speaking to reporters, Mr. Thackeray termed Mr. Raut a ‘dyed-in-wool’ Shiv Sainik who scrupulously adhered to the ideals of the late Sena founder Bal Thackeray.
“I am proud of Sanjay Raut. What crime has he committed? He is a journalist, a Shiv Sainik, is fearless and speaks his mind about what he disapproves,” Mr. Thackeray said.
The former Chief Minister also took a swipe at the rebel Sena MLAs led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, remarking that Mr. Raut, unlike the rebel MLAs and MPs, had not bowed before the agencies and the BJP which misused them by defecting or seeking a compromise.
Protest by Sena cadre
The Shiv Sena cadre held protests in support of Mr. Raut and against the BJP in Nashik, Aurangabad and other parts of the State.
Former Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray, who is on a State-wide tour to reassert the Thackeray faction’s hold over the Sena rank and file, said Mr. Raut’s arrest was a “political conspiracy” by the BJP to “finish off the Shiv Sena and suppress Maharashtra’s voice.”
Commenting on the ED’s claims of recovering cash from the Sena MP’s house and building a case against Mr. Raut based on the retrieval, senior Congressman and Rajya Sabha member Mallikarjun Kharge said: “He [Mr. Raut] runs a party and a paper [Sena mouthpiece].”
However, Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, speaking on Mr. Raut’s arrest, said the agency conducted the probe only on the basis of solid proof.
In April this year, the ED had provisionally attached assets worth over ₹11.15 crore of Mr. Raut’s wife, Varsha Raut, and two of his associates as part of this investigation.
