As Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was produced before the court on Thursday in connection with the Patra Chawl scam, the Shiv Sena leader said he has been kept in a room which has neither window nor ventilation. Sanjay Raut was arrested late on Sunday night and on Monday he was remanded in ED’s custody.
The court sought an explanation from the ED for keeping the 60-year-old leader in a windowless room. The public prosecutor said the room has no window because it has an air-conditioner. To this, Sanjay Raut said he can’t use the air conditioner because of his health condition. The agency then assured him that he would be kept in a room with proper ventilation.
Producing Sanjay Raut before the court, the ED said it has found a trail of cash transactions of crores in addition to what has been found earlier.
The agency sought Sanjay Raut’s custody till August 10.
Earlier, the ED claimed that Sanjay Raut and his family were the direct beneficiaries of ₹1.06 crore of the ₹112 crore received by Pravin Raut from real estate company Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited. 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.
Swapna Patkar’s lawyer Ranjit Sangle approached the court saying that his client has been threatened. As the court asked him how Sanjay Raut can threaten him while being in the custody, Swapna Patkar’s lawyer said he (Sanjay Raut) is influential.
Swapna Patkar is one of the prime witnesses in the case who was once close to Raut. Patkar was a columnist for Saamana, the mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena, from 2009 to 2014.