ED attaches properties of Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray's kin, Sena hits back

The properties worth over ₹6 crore, including 11 residential units in Thane of a company owned by Shridhar Patankar, brother-in-law of Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday provisionally attached immovable properties worth more than ₹6 crore belonging to a relative of Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray in a money laundering case.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

The properties, including 11 residential units in 'Neelambari' project at Vartak Nagar in Thane, are part of a company owned by Shridhar Patankar, brother-in-law of the chief minister. A probe is underway.  

Soon after, Sena MP Sanjay Raut slammed the anti-money laundering agency saying the ED seems to have closed its offices in states like Gujarat (where the BJP is in power). He also cited the questioning of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's nephew and MP Abhishek Banerjee and said neither Bengal nor Maharashtra will give in to the harassment.

“Looks like ED has closed its office in other big states, like Gujarat. Everything is happening in Maharashtra. Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee is also being harassed. But neither Bengal will bow, nor Maharashtra will break,” Raut was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Raut further said Patankar's relation in not limited to Thackeray, but he is a family member to him as well. “Shridhar Madhav Patankar is our family member, his relation is not limited to the Maharashtra CM. The ED has been taking tremendous actions in states where BJP is not in power,” Raut, who is also the editor of the Sena mouthpiece Saamana, said.

About two weeks ago, the Income Tax department raided premises belonging to businessmen and individuals believed to be closely associated with Sena ministers Aaditya Thackeray and Anil Parab. Aaditya is also the son of the chief minister. 

The Sena-led alliance government in the state has been accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misusing central agencies against Opposition leaders. The Sena and BJP had severed decades-old ties in 2019 over power-sharing issues, following which the former allied with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.

The ED has earlier arrested two state cabinet ministers and NCP leaders – Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh – in money laundering cases. Both are currently behind the bars. 

(With inputs from Mumbai bureau)