ED arrests Sena leader Sanjay Raut in Patra Chawl case

Raut waved at the hundreds of supporters waiting outside and raised a saffron flag as he was whisked away

Firebrand Shiv Sena leader and four-time Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate late Sunday in connection with the Rs 1,034-crore Patra Chawl land scam case.

Raut waved at the hundreds of supporters waiting outside and raised a saffron flag, while his wife Varsha, mother and other family members looked on grimly from the balcony of the bungalow as he was whisked away.

Around two dozen ED sleuths accompanied by a unit of the CRPF swooped at Maitree, his Bhandup bungalow around 7 am on Sunday. He was grilled for over nine hours and taken to the ED office at Ballard Estate around 5.30 pm. Around midnight, he was formally placed under arrest.

Also read: Will die but won't surrender; ED has false evidence: Sanjay Raut

The 61-year-old journalist-politician, is a close aide of Shiv Sena president and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and is the chief spokesperson of Shiv Sena.

Over the years, he has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the BJP and has faced the heat of ED since the time he played a key role in the formation of the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

“The case against me is false, the evidence is false, the documents against me are false….I will not leave Shiv Sena, I will die but not bow down before anyone….they are going to arrest me, and I am ready to get arrested…jhukega nahi,” said Raut as he was escorted inside the ED office. “I swear by the late Balasaheb Thackeray that I have done nothing wrong and has nothing to do with any scam,” Raut tweeted.

Raut has appeared before ED once, however, he had skipped two summons.

Earlier in the day, Thackeray said, “Raut may be arrested. What conspiracy is this? Shiv Sena gives strength to Hindus and Marathi people and hence the conspiracy is to finish off the party.”

Shiv Sena’s MVA partners, NCP and Congress, also condemned the arrest saying that it was done with a political motive to muzzle the voice of Opposition parties.

Raut’s brother and two-time Vikhroli MLA Sunil Raut said that the ED has not seized any documents related to the case, as there is none. “They came with a search warrant…they carried out searches, perused through documents,…its a false case,” he said, adding that the ED took away documents related to Income Tax returns and financial details filed along with Rajya Sabha nomination.

There were some reports of cash seizure, however, there is no confirmation from the ED.

Raut's lawyer Vikrant Sabne said that nothing has been recovered from him vis-a-vis the Patra Chawl scam.