Sanjay Raut’s ED custody ends today, to be produced in court

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut will be produced in a special court as his three-day Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody ends on Thursday.

On Monday, the court remanded Raut in ED’s custody after the agency said he and his family were found to have received ₹1.06 crore of “tainted money” from his “front man” Pravin Raut, who was arrested in the case earlier.

ED arrested Sanjay Raut late on Sunday night in connection with the money laundering case registered in connection with the Patra Chawl redevelopment project. On Monday, ED’s counsel, Hiten Venegaonkar, told the court that Raut and his family were direct beneficiaries of ₹1.06 crore of the ₹112 crore received by Pravin Raut from real estate company Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL).

Of this, ₹13.94 lakh was shown to have been received by Varsha Raut, Sanjay Raut’s wife, as returns on her investment of ₹5,625 in Avani Infrastructure, a firm floated in the name of Pravin Raut’s wife, Madhuri.

ED’s case against Raut is based on the one registered in March 2018 against HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan, Guruashish Construction Pvt Ltd — a subsidiary of HDIL that undertook the redevelopment of Patra Chawl in Goregaon — and its director Pravin Raut, among others.

ED claimed Sanjay Raut was also part of the larger conspiracy hatched by the Wadhawans and Pravin Raut to siphon off the money of the Patra Chawl project. ED, in its remand application, said Avani Infrastructure was floated by the Rauts for the purpose.