Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra politician Sanjay Raut is set to remain in judicial custody for 14 more days, as ordered by a court in Mumbai. Raut’s judicial custody has been extended in relation to the charges filed against him in the Patra Chawl money laundering case.
A special court here on Monday extended Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's judicial custody by another 14 days in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai 'chawl'.
Raut, 60, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 1 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl (row tenement) in suburban Goregaon.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had found substantial evidence against Sanjay Raut, among other accused, in the Patra Chawl case which resurfaced right after the Shiv Sena-led MVA alliance in Maharashtra crumbed due to rebel leader Eknath Shinde.
The Shiv Sena leader, who is a close aide of former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, was produced before special PMLA judge MG Deshpande at the end of his judicial remand on Monday. The court extended his judicial custody by another 14 days.
Despite the central agency’s claim of finding evidence against him, Sanjay Raut has denied any wrongdoing and called the ED case against him "false", calling it a targeted attack by the central government.
What is the Patra Chawl case?
The Patra Chawl land scam unfolded when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth Rs 11.15 crores to Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha and two of his associates.
Siddharth Nagar, popularly known as Patra Chawl, is located in the northern Mumbai suburb of Goregaon. Spread over an area of 47 acres, the ‘chawl’ had a total of 672 houses.
In 2008, the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA) undertook the redevelopment project which involved the rehabilitation of all 672 tenants and redevelopment of the locality and gave the contract to Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited (GACPL).
The residents were promised rent and redevelopment of the area, which eventually took a halt. The ED claims that Pravin Raut, a close aide of Raut, and the other associates of GACPL misled MHADA, and sold the floor space index (FSI) to nine private developers, collecting Rs 901.79 crore, without constructing wither the rehab portion for the 672 tenants, or the MHADA portion.
Further, the ED has claimed that funds related to the project were transferred to several associates of Sanjay Raut as well as his wife Varsha.
(With PTI inputs)
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