The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday carried out an early morning at the Mumbai residence of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and questioned the Rajya Sabha MP in connection with the Patra Chawl land scam case. This came after the Sena spokesperson skipped summons twice for questioning in the case.
The ED officials were accompained by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials as they raided Raut's residence.
Soon after the raid, Raut said he will continue to fight, adding that false allegations are levelled against him. "Maharashtra and Shiv Sena will continue to fight," he tweeted, "...False action, false evidence... I will not leave Shiv Sena... Even if I die, I will not surrender... I have nothing to do with any scam."
Mumbai | Enforcement Directorate officials conduct search & questioning at the residence of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, in the Patra Chawl land scam case pic.twitter.com/eE0E9mxatl
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2022
Raut, 60, was summoned by the probe agency on July 20, but the Sena leader had failed to appear. Later, the ED summoned him again on July 27, but Raut informed officials through his lawyer that he could appear only after August 7 due to the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament in New Delhi.
Raut, a loyalist of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, was questioned for nearly 10 hours by the ED on July 1. His statements were recorded under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"I will go to the agency, will ask for some time as the parliament session is still on and therefore will request for a further date. Amid the ongoing political situations,I definitely knew I will face something like this, the people of Maharashtra and the country knew it," Raut had told reporters after the ED grilling.
In April, the ED also attached properties worth over Rs 11.15 crore of Raut's wife Varsha Raut and two of his associates as part of its probe. The properties were held by his aide Pravin M Raut and Swapna Patkar, the wife of Sujit Patkar.
The ED wants to question the Sena leader about his "business and other links" with Pravin Raut and Patkar. It must be noted that Pravin Raut was arrested by the ED in February in a probe linked to a Rs 1,034-crore alleged land scam related to the re-development of the Patra "chawl" in Mumbai's Goregaon area, saying he made payments to certain "politically-exposed persons".