Somaiya seeks probe into Raigad bungalows, Raut calls it a figment of BJP leader’s imagination

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya on Friday demanded a police investigation into the ownership of 19 bungalows which he claimed were built in Korlai village of Raigad district and were owned by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s wife, Rashmi

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya on Friday demanded a police investigation into the ownership of 19 bungalows which he claimed were built in Korlai village of Raigad district and were owned by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s wife, Rashmi. Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said no such bungalows existed in that village and they were a figment of Somaiya’s imagination.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. HT/File

Somaiya, who has been levelling allegations on Sena leaders, and Raut continued to trade barbs on Friday.

Accompanied by BJP legislator Prashant Thakur, Somaiya visited Korlai village and submitted a letter to local authorities seeking status of the bungalows and also moved an application with the police in the matter. He alleged that Thackeray had paid property tax on these bungalows.

“The reply we received under the Right to Information Act showed that property tax was paid through an RTGS transaction to Korlai grampanchayat, but now the sarpanch (village head) says there are no bungalows. We have moved an application to Revdanda police station in this regard. The gram sevak has sought two days to get back over the status. Did Uddhav Thackeray raze the bungalows to save his CM post?” Somaiya said.

Responding to the allegations, Raut said, “An explanation has already been given. There is no construction or bungalow on the land (as claimed by Somaiya). He sees bungalows in his dream. He might be seeing his benami properties in his dreams. Most of the BJP people are haunted by ghosts.”

Raut continued his charges against Somaiya, alleging that the latter had threatened interior designer Anvay Naik, who died by suicide under pressure from the BJP.

The Sena MP further said the original owner of the land was Anvay Naik and the BJP leaders are not talking about why Naik had to end his life. “These people had come out in support of the criminals who caused Naik to take the extreme step. A Marathi man like Anvay Naik, an entrepreneur, killed himself under the pressure from the BJP. Because these people were saving Arnab Goswami. Somaiya had also threatened Naik not to ask Goswami for money and not to send the bill. It was only after this that Naik died by suicide,” Raut alleged.

Interior designer Anvay Naik, along with his mother Kumud Naik, was found dead at their bungalow in Alibaug in May 2018. Naik’s wife and daughter had alleged that Republic TV anchor Goswami and others were responsible for his death. Goswami had also been arrested by the Raigad police and was later released on bail.

Local Shiv Sena functionaries said Anvay Naik purchased the land in 2008-09 to build a resort. However, he could not construct it as it fell under the Coastal Regulation Zone. Between 2008 and 2014, Naik paid the property tax on the makeshift structures that were built on it. In 2014, Naik sold the plot admeasuring 3.72 hectares to Manisha Ravindra Waikar and Rashmi Uddhav Thackeray. Ravindra Waikar is a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray.

“The taxes were pending between 2014 and 2019, so the grampanchayat contacted Waikar as they (Waikar family) were registered contacts on the records. Following the notice, the tax payment was made through an RTGS [transaction]. They questioned why the tax was levied if there was no construction. The property tax was subsequently waived by the tax committee of the grampanchayat,” Prashant Misal, sarpanch of Korlai, told reporters.

As Somaiya visited the village, he was escorted by BJP workers and supporters. BJP and Sena workers engaged in sloganeering while Somaiya was inside the grampanchayat office. “We had cooperated with him when he came here thrice before this. We did not call anyone (party workers) here, but today, Shiv Sainiks have come down to show support,” Misal added.

Rane threatens Thackerays

Meanwhile, a day after the Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation issued a notice to a bungalow owned by Union minister Narayan Rane, the latter threatened the Thackeray family. In a tweet, Rane said Enforcement Directorate (ED) notices for the “four people from Matoshree” were ready, referring to Thackeray’s family home in Bandra East.

“A special news for MP Vinayak Raut. Soon, the investigation in the suicides of Sushant Singh [Rajput] and Disha Salian, who was raped and then killed, will reopen. And not just that, I have come to know that ED notices for the four people in Matoshree are ready,” he tweeted.

Responding to the tweet, Sena leader and urban development minister Eknath Shinde, in Navi Mumbai, said, “I will collect information on it and speak. However, I have repeatedly said that the use of Central agencies for the purpose of vengeance is not right. It is an attack on democracy. The Sena has never been scared of such threats and will never be in the future as well.”

Shinde further said the Central agencies should act against what is wrong but any action which is politically motivated is unacceptable. “Maharashtra has the MVA government which has the numbers and numbers are important in a democracy. The MVA is working well under Uddhav Thackeray and hence, what is happening now is wrong.”

(Inputs from G Mohiuddin Jeddy)