Shiv Sena plans big protest over Sanjay Raut's arrest

Mumbai, Aug 01: Shiv Sena workers will stage protests against the arrest of the party MP Sanjay Raut by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Raut's brother Sunil said Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena stands firmly behind the Raut family.

"The Shiv Sena and Uddhav ji stand solidly behind us. Our legal fight (over Sanjay Raut's arrest) has begun," the Shiv Sena MLA from Vikhroli told PTI.

The ED arrested Sanjay Raut late in Sunday night in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai 'chawl' after conducting a search at his residence, during which Rs 11.5 lakh in cash was seized.

The Rajya Sabha MP of the Sena, led by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, will be produced before a special PMLA court in Mumbai later in the day, where the Enforcement Directorate will seek his custody.

An agency team had on Sunday reached his residence in Mumbai's Bhandup area, where they conducted a search, questioned Raut, and by evening, summoned him for questioning at the agency's local office.

The ED probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra 'chawl' and related financial property transactions involving his wife and alleged associates.

In April, the ED provisionally attached assets worth over Rs 11.15 crore belonging to his wife Varsha Raut and two of his associates as part of this investigation.

The attached properties are in the form of land held by Pravin M Raut, Sanjay Raut's aide and a former director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, at Palghar, Saphale (town in Palghar) and Padgha (in Thane district).

These assets also include a flat in Mumbai's suburb Dadar held by Varsha Raut and eight plots at Kihim beach in Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Sujit Patkar, a "close associate" of Sanjay Raut, the ED had said.

The agency is understood to have questioned the Sena leader about his "business and other links" with Pravin Raut and Patkar and also about the property deals involving his wife.