The Shiv Sena is battling revolt from a number of its MLAs at the same time as this event, casting doubt on the viability of Maharashtra's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Rebel Shiv Sena lawmakers, who were initially sent to Surat, are currently camped out in Guwahati.
"I just came to know that the ED has summoned me.
"Good! There are big political developments in Maharashtra. We, Balasaheb's Shivsainiks, are fighting a big battle. This is a conspiracy to stop me. Even if you behead me, I won't take the Guwahati route.
"Arrest me! Jai Hind!" a defiant Raut said on Twitter.
As part of this inquiry, the ED earlier temporarily attached assets belonging to Raut's wife Varsha Raut and two of his acquaintances totaling more than ₹11.15 crore.
Varsha Raut sent ₹55 lakh back to Madhuri Raut, according to ED findings. There are numerous additional transactions, it added. In relation to the PMC Bank investigation and her alleged connections to Pravin Raut's wife, the agency had questioned Varsha Raut in 2021.
The properties are land that Pravin M Raut, Sanjay Raut's assistant and a former director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, owns in the towns of Palghar, Saphale, and Padgha (in Thane district). The ED said in a statement that the attached assets also include a flat owned by Varsha Raut in the Mumbai district of Dadar and eight plots at Kihim Beach in Alibaug jointly owned by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, Sujit Patkar's wife.
Sujit Patkar is a close friend of Sanjay Raut, the ED claims. According to what is known, the agency wants to question Sanjay Raut about his "business and other" ties to Pravin Raut and Patkar, as well as the real estate transactions involving his wife.
In the Alibaug land deal, apart from the registered value, "cash" payments were made to the sellers, the agency had alleged.
Sanjay Raut had then termed the ED action an attack on middle class "Marathi manoos" and asserted that he will not be cowed by such moves and resist any act to put pressure on him.
In February, the ED detained Pravin Raut as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged ₹1,034 crore land fraud involving the renovation of the Patra "chawl" in Mumbai's Goregaon neighbourhood. Pravin Raut is currently in judicial custody.
Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd was involved in re-development of the Patra 'chawl' which had 672 tenants in tenements on 47 acres belonging to the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA), the ED had said earlier. Guru Ashish is a subsidiary company of Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd. (HDIL).
HDIL is under investigation by the ED and few other agencies in connection with the about ₹4,300 crore alleged fraud at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank.
ED said Guru Ashish had entered into a "tripartite agreement' with the tenants and MHADA to re-develop the 'chawl'.
According to the agreement, the ED said, the developer had to provide flats to 672 tenants and develop flats for MHADA. Thereafter, the remaining area was to be sold by the developer.
"The directors of Guru Ashish Constructions mislead MHADA and managed to sell the FSI (floor space index) to nine developers and collected about ₹901.79 crore without constructing the rehab portion for 672 displaced tenants and MHADA portion," it said.
This real estate company also unveiled the Meadows project and collected a booking fee of almost ₹138 crore from buyers of apartments.
"The total proceeds of the crime generated by directors of Guru Ashish Constructions Pvt. Ltd l. through illegal activities was about ₹1,039.79 crore. Part of the proceeds of crime was further transferred to close associates," it alleged.
The ED probe, conducted so far, found that "around ₹100 crore were transferred from HDIL to the account of Pravin Raut".
This amount was further "diverted" by Pravin Raut to various accounts of his close associates, family members, his business entities etc, it said.
"During 2010, part of the proceeds of crime of ₹83 lakh was received by Varsha Raut, wife of Sanjay Raut, directly/indirectly from Madhuri Pravin Raut, wife of Pravin Raut."
"This amount was utilised by Varsha Raut for purchase of flat at Dadar east," the agency alleged.
Probe found that Varsha Sanjay Raut and Madhuri Pravin Raut "are partners in Avani Construction and Varsha Raut has received ₹12 lakh from this entity (as overdrawn capital converted to loan) on a contribution of mere ₹5,625".
(With PTI inputs)
