A special court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case, till October 21. The court will again take up the matter for hearing on the same day, special judge MG Deshpande said.
According to a PTI report, Raut’s counsel Ashok Mundargi told the court that the allegations levelled against Raut by the ED were “inherently unbelievable and cannot be relied upon”.
Raut is being probed in connection with the alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of a Patra Chawl (row tenement) and related financial transactions involving the Sena leader’s wife and associates. He was arrested by ED earlier this year on money laundering charges.
In 2008, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) assigned a redevelopment contract for the chawl to Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited (GACPL), a sister company of HDIL (Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd).
The GACPL was supposed to build 672 flats for tenants and give some flats to the MHADA. It was free to sell the remaining land to private developers.
According to the ED, the tenants did not get a single flat in the last 14 years, as the company did not redevelop the Patra Chawl, but sold land parcels and floor space index (FSI) to other builders for ₹1,034 crore.
(With PTI inputs)
