Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) leader Sanjay Raut has been remanded to ED custody till August 4. As per the latest reports, the special ED court hearing the remand stated that since the documentation for the money trail is already available, a long remand is not needed.
Order:
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) August 1, 2022
Accused Sanjay Raut is remanded to ED custody till August 4. That will suffice the object of investigation.#SanjayRaut #PatraChawlLandScam
As per LiveLaw, the special court noted that the ECIR against Sanjay Raut’s associate Pravin Raut was registered in 2021 and he was arrested in January 2022. It also noted that ED began investigating the case in 2020.
Dmeanind a custody for 8 days, the ED had argued that Sanjay Raut and his family have directly benefitted from the Patra Chawl scam and if not under custody, Raut may try to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence.
Raut’s lawyer claimed that the case against Sanjay Raut is political and the ED cannot keep him under custody claiming that they ‘may find something.’
The ED has agreed to provide medication and home-cooked food for Sanjay Raut. After demand by Raut’s lawyer, the ED has also allowed Raut’s lawyer to visit him for consultations between 8.30 and 9.30 am and has said that Raut’s interrogation would not go beyond 10.30 im the night.
Patra Chawl land scam
On July 31, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection to Patra Chawl Land Scam Case.
The central investigation agency has summoned him multiple times in relation to the case. On July 1, Raut appeared before the agency to record his statement. Later, Raut skipped the summons twice, stating he was busy with his duties as a member of the Parliament and could join the investigation only after August 1. The most recent summon issued on July 27. On July 28, ED questioned him for the second time. On July 31, they conducted a raid at his house and eventually arrested the Shiv Sena leader.
Patra Chawl, also known as Siddharth Nagar, is a locality in North Mumbai’s suburb Goregaon, spread over 47 acres. In 2007, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd (GACPL) signed an agreement to provide new houses to the 672 tenants of the chawl. Furthermore, GACPL was in agreement to develop 3,000 flats for MHADA. The remaining area of the chawl was marked to be sold to private developers. Contrary to the agreement, the residents never got possession of the promised houses.
As per the agreement, the construction company GACPL was supposed to provide 672 houses to the tenants of the chawl. GACPL did not build even a single house for the displaced tenants of the chawl. Furthermore, the land (Floor Space Index or FSI) marked for their houses was sold to nine private developers for the price of Rs 901.79 crores.
The details of ED’s case
Enforcement Directorate has filed a case against GACPL, stating the illegal activities of the company allegedly amount to Rs 1,039.79 crores. During the investigation, the agency found that Pravin Raut had received Rs 100 crores from HDIL. ED further added that the money was diverted to different accounts owned by his family members, business entities and close associated. Some of the money was transferred to the accounts allegedly linked to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut as well.
