ED gets custody of Sena MP Sanjay Raut till August 4 in slum redevelopment scam

Sanjay Raut arrest: The special PMLA court said investigation into money trail to his wife can be traced through bank statement and an eight-day custody is not needed for the same.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) was granted custody of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut till August 4. Raut was arrested late last night in a money laundering case related to a slum redevelopment land scam.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut being taken to court by ED officers after his arrest, in Mumbai on Monday.  (Bhushan Koyande / HT Photo)

Seeking his eight-day custody, the ED had said Raut was tampering with evidence and influenced several crucial witnesses in the money laundering case for which he is being probed.

The probe agency told the special PMLA court in Mumbai on Monday that Praveen Raut was Sanjay Raut's front man. It said Praveen Raut earned ₹112 crore of which the ED has so far traced ₹1.06 crore to the ‘Saamana’ editor and his family. The ED said Raut was tampering with evidence and influenced several crucial witnesses in the money laundering case for which he is being probed.

The court said investigation into money trail to his wife can be traced through bank statement and such long custody is not needed.

Before being produced in the court, the Rajya Sabha MP, arrested early on Monday following hours of grilling at the ED's Mumbai office, was taken to the state-run JJ Hospital for a check up.

ED prosecutor Hiten Venegaokar said the MP received ₹2 lakh per month from Praveen Raut, who also paid for several international trips of the Sena leader and his family. The ED further said the traced ₹1.06 crore has been used to buy 10 parcels of land in Kihim, Alibaug. “Sixty per cent of the amount has been paid in cash already. The ED has already taken statement of owners from whom land is purchased,” Venegaokar added.

Defence lawyer Ashok Mundargi his client has been arrested out of political vendetta, adding all allegations are speculative. He said minimum custody may be granted in the case.

Regarding the ED's allegation of non-cooperation, Mundargi said the MP was neck deep into the current political crisis prevailing in the state and the role he was required to play as one of the key persons of his party. "This cannot be taken as non-cooperation," he said.

Raut had spent the night in the ED's south Mumbai office in Ballard Estate after his arrest in the case. While being taken to the hospital around 12.30pm, the ‘Saamana’ editor, adorning a saffron scarf, was seen waving to media personnel gathered outside the agency's office.

The ED arrested Raut after questioning him for six hours following a nine-hour search at his residence, during which ₹11.5 lakh in cash was seized, officials said.

He was taken into custody at 12:05am Monday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as he was not cooperating in the investigation, the officials said.

Raut has claimed no wrongdoing and alleged political vendetta in the case. Raut, who went to the ED's office in his own car, the Uddhav Thackeray loyalist said he would not cow down to the pressure and would remain in the Shiv Sena.

The ED's intensified action comes days after Thackeray resigned as the chief minister of Maharashtra following a rebellion by Eknath Shinde, who later succeeded him with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.