Patra Chawl redevelopment scam: ED attaches properties owned by Sanjay Raut’s wife

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹11

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹11.15 crore, including a flat at Dadar, held by Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha and eight land parcels at Kihim near Alibag, jointly held by the latter with Swapna Patkar, in connection with the Patra Chawl redevelopment scam. Swapna is the wife of Sujit Patkar, a close associate of the Sena leader.

The flat at Dadar linked to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut that was attached by the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday. Satish Bate/HT Photo

The agency also attached some land parcels in Palghar and at Saphale and Padgha villages in Thane district, which belong to Pravin Raut, former director of Guru Ashish Constructions. The firm had undertaken the construction project for rehabilitation of 672 tenants of Patra Chawl at Goregaon. Pravin Raut was arrested in the case on February 2.

ED said apart from rehabilitating the 672 tenants, Guru Ashish Constructions was supposed to hand over certain constructed portions to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). The developer, however, sold the floor space index of the rehabilitation project to nine builders and collected ₹901.79 crore from them without constructing the rehab buildings and the MHADA portions, it said. The developer also collected an additional amount of ₹138 crore from prospective flat buyers by launching a project at the site – thus taking the total proceeds of crime to ₹1,039.79 crore, ED said.

The agency said its investigation revealed that around ₹100 crore was transferred from the real estate company, HDIL, to the account of Pravin Raut, who in turn diverted part of these funds to various accounts of his close associates, family members, and business entities.

“In 2010, part of these proceeds amounting to ₹83 lakh was received by Varsha Raut, directly/indirectly from Pravin Raut’s wife Madhuri. This amount was utilised by Varsha for purchasing the flat at Dadar,” ED said and added that after initiation of investigation by the agency, Varsha transferred ₹55 lakh back to Madhuri.

The Central agency’s probe also found out that during the said period, eight plots of land at Kihim beach were purchased in the name of Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar. 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, they were provisionally attached as per the due process of law, ED said.

ED had initiated a money-laundering probe on the basis of the Mumbai police’s economic offences wing’s March 2018 FIR registered against Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, Rakesh Kumar Wadhwan, Sarang Kumar Wadhwan, Pravin Raut, and others on the basis of a complaint filed by a MHADA officer.

In December 2020, ED had provisionally attached Pravin Raut’s immovable assets worth ₹72.65 crore in connection with the fraud at Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank.