Sanjay Raut's wife seeks time till Jan 5 to appear before ED

Even as Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha skipped the summons of the Enforcement Directorate seeking more time, the Shiv Sena leader continued to attack the BJP for targeting political opponents.

“We have sought time of four more days,” Raut, a Rajya Sabha member and executive editor of Saamana, told reporters in Mumbai.

This is the third time that she has skipped the summons.

Asked about the notice, he said: “I have not seen the notice…it is not with me.”

While BJP leaders had claimed that the notice was in respect of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PNB) scam and transactions with Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL), Raut has stated it was for a Rs 50 lakh loan that his wife had taken from a friend 12 years ago for construction of a house.

“We respect the central agencies,” he said, however, adding that the ED notice was an action emerging out of political vendetta.

“I am a lawmaker…I am a Rajya Sabha member. I will respect the law despite some people holding it hostage and managing to evade action,” said Raut.

“We are not worried, we will respond accordingly,” he said.

The ED has reportedly found a link of transactions between the accounts of Varsha and Pravin Raut, one of the directors of Guruashish Constructions Private Limited, who was arrested recently. Guruashish is a subsidiary of HDIL, whose other directors Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan have already been arrested in connection with the scam.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said: “This is the third summons of ED. Sanjay Raut’s family is not appearing before the ED. Why are they running away? The ED is investigating transactions of crores of rupees between PMC Bank, HDIL, Pravin Raut family and Sanjay Raut family. What are the special relations of the two Raut families.”