Sanjay Raut, the leader of the Shiv Sena, will appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office today after the investigative agency denied his request for further time to appear in connection with a money laundering case, news agency ANI reported.
After failing to appear in his first summons on Monday owing to the then-political situation in Maharashtra, the ED issued him a second summons to appear before July 1.
Notably, Raut is being investigated in relation to the redevelopment of Mumbai's Patra Chawl. His counsel requested 13-14 days to deliver the materials to the investigation agency, but the request was denied.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Sanjay Raut said, “I will be going to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office tomorrow.”
In response to Uddhav Thackeray's resignation as Chief Minister on Wednesday evening, he stated that the Shiv Sena will work and return to power "on our own once again."
“Shiv Sena is not born for power, power is born for Shiv Sena. This has always been Balasaheb Thackeray’s mantra. We will work & come to power on our own once again,” he said.
Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde, who led a mutiny against the Shiv Sena that resulted in the collapse of the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration, took oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister on Thursday evening.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari delivered the oath to him at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. Devendra Fadnavis, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister.
Shinde and Fadnavis convened the first cabinet meeting of the new administration in Mumbai on Thursday evening after taking the oath.
Patra Chawl Land Scam
Previously, the ED had attached property worth Rs 9 crore associated with Sanjay Raut's 'aide' Pravin Raut and assets worth roughly Rs 2 crore associated with Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha in the Rs 1,034-crore Patra Chawl land fraud case.
The financial watchdog has filed a charge sheet against Pravin Raut in a money laundering case.
In February, ED officials investigating the Patra Chawl land fraud discovered that Pravin Raut had transferred Rs 55 lakh to Varsha from the profits of crime through his wife's account. The ED further stated that hotel accommodations and tickets for Sanjay Raut and those affiliated with him had been booked for local and foreign travel.
(With ANI Inputs)