Shindes slam Raut over alleged links to Amit Salunkhe

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson of Sumeet Facilities denied any connection to the Shinde family

MUMBAI: Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and his son, Shrikant, a member of parliament, have hit back at Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, for alleging they have links with Amit Salunkhe, arrested in a liquor scam in Jharkhand. Raut has demanded an investigation into the alleged connection.

Sanjay Raut (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Salunkhe is also the director of Sumeet Facilities Ltd, which operates the ambulance network via the emergency 108 number across the state. According to Raut, Salunkhe bagged several contracts in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) when Eknath Shinde was chief minister in the previous Mahayuti government, implying lack of transparency in these contracts.

The father-son duo retaliated, saying Raut was himself linked to various scams and dared him to provide proof to support his allegations against them. In turn, Raut has urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to appoint a special investigation team (SIT) to probe Salunkhe’s alleged links to the Shindes.

Raut had on Friday alleged that Salunkhe had bagged the contract to run the state government’s 108 ambulance service and had donated to the Shrikant Shinde Medical Foundation.

Meanwhile, Raut on Saturday claimed that apart from the ambulance service contract, the Shindes had allegedly helped Salunkhe secure contracts for several other services in the MMR, such as a waste management contract in the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation.

“The links between the Shinde father-and-son duo with Salunkhe is not a simple matter, and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis should look into it seriously. If Fadnavis cannot fathom the seriousness of the matter, he should forget that he is CM of Maharashtra,” said Raut. He claimed that Fadnavis has a penchant for appointing SITs. “So he should appoint an SIT to probe the links between the Shindes and Salunkhe.”

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson of Sumeet Facilities denied any connection to the Shinde family. “Neither our company, our director, nor his family members have any links – direct or indirect – with any political party or political figure. Any insinuation to the contrary is wholly inaccurate and deserves to be ignored.”

The statement added, “Regarding the ambulance project “108”, a public interest litigation (PIL) was dismissed by the Bombay High Court on 8th April 2025. The HC confirmed that the entire tender process conducted by the Government of Maharashtra was fair, transparent, and legally sound. All allegations of cost escalation were found to be meritless and unsubstantiated.”