Maharashtra: The Enforcement Directorate requests an 8-day detention for Sanjay Raut, but the judge only grants it for 4.

  • Aug. 2, 2022, 1:13 p.m.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the special PMLA court on Monday that it has been ascertained that Raut and the arrested accused, his friend and businessman Pravin Raut, and HDIL promoters Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan, conspired together and hatched a conspiracy to siphon off money from the Patra Chawl redevelopment project without completing the work. Represented by special public prosecutors Hiten Venegaonkar and Kavita Patil, the ED submitted that the accused had thus jeopardized the future of 672 tenants "whose dwellings had already been demolished."

Sanjay Raut to be produced before the court on August 4

The ED alleged that Raut and his family benefitted to the tune of Rs 1.1 crore and that the 62-year-old politician would receive Rs 2 lakh from Pravin Raut every month. Special judge M. G. Deshpande granted ED custody only until August 4. The court said considering "the compass of inquiry and volume of matter," it strongly felt custodial interrogation was necessary.

The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday arrested Shiv Sena RS MP Sanjay Raut after conducting a raid at his bungalow in connection with a money laundering case.

"It cannot be ignored that a chargesheet has already been filed against Pravin Raut a long time back." Everything is already documented and available for the prosecution to investigate. Even a trail of money in the accused’s wife’s bank account can be investigated by obtaining bank statements. Therefore, in my opinion, long ED custody for eight days is not warranted. In order to thoroughly investigate crimes, the prayer of ED for custody deserves to be allowed partly. The accused is remanded to ED custody till August 4. " 
Raut was produced before the court at around 2.15 pm. Before he entered the courtroom, he said, "Aamhala sampavnyacha daav aahe" (This is a ploy to finish us). Those accompanying him advised him to remove the saffron stole he was wearing around his neck, and he obliged. Heavy security was deployed around the court premises and entry was restricted.
During the hearing that lasted a little over an hour, Venegaonkar submitted that Raut had not answered two summons and had not cooperated with the investigations. "During the same period when accused Sanjay Raut avoided joining the probe, he indulged himself in threatening the key witness (a woman), asking her not to take his name before ED and further to state that previous statements recorded by ED were under threat and pressure. Failure to do so may result in her rape and murder, "the prosecution’s plea said."

Heavy police bandobast was deployed outside Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut’s Bhandup bungalow on Sunday and senior police officers rushed to the spot to control the crowd that had gathered there as news of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid spread.

The remand plea noted the time of Raut’s arrest as 12.05 am. Just after the arrest, the ED intimated the Rajya Sabha chairman through email as Raut is an RS member. 
At the hearing, the ED said Pravin Raut, "frontman of Sanjay Raut", received Rs. 112 crore from HDIL in 2010. Pravin Raut earlier told ED that of this amount, Rs 50 crore was received against the sale of sweat equity and the remaining from a land deal at Palghar. However, ED alleged Pravin failed to explain the rationale for receiving such huge funds without any investment.

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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