Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was arrested at midnight after over six hours of questioning in an alleged land scam case, news agency PTI reported. Raut, 60, alleged he was being targeted by the Centre to weaken Team Thackeray.
Enforcement Directorate officials had searched Raut’s home for the most part of Sunday after he refused to appear for questioning despite being summoned twice.
The probe agency team reached the home of the 60-year-old Sena MP at 7 am on Sunday. But Raut was taken away to the Enforcement Directorate office only in the evening.
The investigators want to question Raut in connection with the re-development of a chawl in Mumbai and related transactions involving his wife and close associates.
The Rajya Sabha MP of the Sena group led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will be produced before a court in Mumbai later today, where the Enforcement Directorate will seek his custody.
Before entering the Enforcement Directorate office on Sunday, Raut told reporters the central anti-financial crime agency’s action was aimed at trying to weaken the Shiv Sena and that a “false” case was prepared against him.
The BJP hit back at the Sena leader for skipping the summons. “Why is he scared of Enforcement Directorate if he is innocent? He has all the time to give press conference but no time to visit probe agency office for questioning,” said BJP MLA Ram Kadam.
In April, the Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth over Rs 11.15 crore of Raut’s wife Varsha Raut and two of his associates. The properties include a flat in Dadar held by Varsha Raut and eight plots at Kihim beach in Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, the wife of Sujit Patkar, a “close associate” of Sanjay Raut.
The agency wants to question Raut to know about his “business and other links” with his close associates Pravin Raut and Sujit Patkar and also about the property deals involving his wife.
With inputs from NDTV, PTI
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