NEW DELHI, April 5: In yet another case of a central agency netting a non-BJP political leader in Maharashtra, the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday provisionally attached assets worth Rs 11.15 crore of three people associated with the Shiv Sena spokesman and MP Sanjay Raut in connection with alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra Chawl project in Mumbai’s Goregaon by a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL).
Among those whose property attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were Raut’s wife Varsha Raut, Raut’s close aide and businessman Pravin Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of another Sanjay Raut’s close aide Sujit Patkar. The property attached included eight tracts of land owned by the family of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in Alibaug and a flat at Dadar. The land is estimated to be worth ₹9 crore and the flat approximately ₹2 crore.
While probing the ₹1,034 crore land scam case, the ED found that Pravin Raut had made a payment of ₹55 lakh from the proceeds of crime through his wife Madhuri’s account to Sanjay’s wife Varsha Raut’s account. Pravin Raut was arrested by the ED in the case on February 2 and a charge sheet was filed. Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited’s promoters Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan, who are currently lodged in jail as accused in the case, have been named.
On February 23, the 47-acre Patra Chawl redevelopment project finally took off and brought relief to close to 700 tenants. A report published in 2018 by former housing secretary Sanjay Kumar found an error in the calculation of the Patra Chawl area causing a loss of ₹474 crore.
In a statement, the ED said, “The attached assets are in form of lands held by Pravin M Raut, former director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, Mumbai at Palghar, a flat at Dadar of Varsha Raut and plots at Kihim beach at Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut wife of Shri Sanjay Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Shri Sujit Patkar.”
The central agency had arrested Pravin Raut on February 4 under the PMLA. It had found that Pravin received Rs 100 crores from the HDIL and “diverted” it to various accounts of “his close associates, family member, his business entities” including the family of Sanjay Raut.
The ED said its probe into the irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra chawl has found that a tripartite agreement was signed between the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL). As per the agreement, Guru Ashish was to provide flats to 672 tenants of the chawl, develop flats for MHADA and then sell the remaining area to private developers.
However, the directors of Guru Ashish Constructions, including Pravin Raut, misled MHADA and managed to sell the floor space index (FSI) to nine developers and collected Rs 901.79 crore without constructing the rehab portion for 672 displaced tenants or the MHADA portion, said the ED.
“Further, Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd has also launched one project namely Meadows and took the booking of amount (of) around Rs 138 crore from flat buyers. The total proceeds of the crime generated by directors of Guru Ashish Constructions Pvt Ltd through the illegal activities was approximately Rs 1,039.79 crore,” said the ED statement.
The ED has alleged that in 2010, a part of the proceeds of crime of Rs 83 lakh was transferred to Varsha Raut from Madhuri Raut, wife of Pravin Raut. “This amount was utilized by Varsha Raut for purchase of flat at Dadar. It is also revealed that after initiation of ED investigation, the amount of Rs 55 lakh was transferred by Varsha Raut to Madhuri Raut,” the agency said. The ED added that at least eight plots of land at Kihim beach at Alibaug in Maharashtra were purchased in the name of Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar in 2010. These properties too have been provisionally attached, it said.
Several political leaders in Maharashtra are currently being probed by different central agencies including the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation ever since the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government took office unseating the BJP.
(Manas Dasgupta)
