The Designated Special Court under PMLA in Mumbai on Thursday extended the remand of Sanjay Raut to 8 August. In its petition to the Special Court for extension Raut’s remand, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the investigation has led to further proceeds of crime utilized by Sanjay Raut to the tune of Rs. 1.17 cr in respect of Alibagh properties. This is in addition to the earlier proceeds of crime of Rs. 1.06 cr he is alleged to have received from Pravin Raut, , one of the accused in the case in the Patra Chawl scam case.
The ED investigators on Thursday produced Raut before the Special Court and sought extension of his remand for another four days from the court.
The Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson was arrested on Sunday mid-night by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Rs. 1039 cr Patra Chawl scam, alleging that Raut and his family had received Rs. 1.06 cr of proceeds of crime from Pravin. The Special Court had on Monday sent the Saamana editor to four-day ED remand. Pravin is alleged to have received Rs. 112 cr from the proceeds of the crime in the scam.
Raut was on Thursday produced before the Special Court by the ED investigators. Pitching for an extension of his remand for another four days, the central agency said that Raut has infused considerable amount of cash in the purchase of the land at Kihim in Alibagh, which has been confirmed by some of the sellers. The cash component has been sourced from Pravin. The scrutiny of documents seized after the raids on his house has revealed that contrary to Raut’s earlier claims, there was a substantial cash component in the deal. The ED has sent summons to the sellers named in the documents to join probe on 5 and 6 August. Their names have not been revealed for they might be influenced by Raut.
The ED had on Tuesday interrogated the former accountant of the HDIL after conducting raids on the company premises on Sunday. Speaking to The Daily Guardian, sources in the ED told that in addition to the money that Raut and his family received in their accounts, Pravin Raut had given them huge sums of cash, which was used to buy flat in Mumbai and a plot of land at Kihim in Alibagh.
In the remand application, the ED officials also said that Pravin had funded foreign and domestic travels of Raut and his family from the proceeds of the crime. The central anti-money laundering agency said that the accused could not explain the transactions that several bank accounts his wife Varsha held had reflected. It has found fresh money trail, the agency claimed, which needs to be investigated further.
During the course of hearing, Raut complained to the court alleging that the ED has kept him in a room which has only a ceiling fan and has no ventilation. He told the court that since he is a heart patient, he cannot use the AC even if he was provided one. The court directed the ED officials to provide him another room with ventilation.
After hearing arguments, the court granted the ED an extension of Raut’s remand for four more days to 8 August.