Court extends Raut custody till Aug 8

Mumbai, Aug 4 A special PMLA court on Thursday extended the Enforcement Directorate custody of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut till August 8 for alleged money laundering.
The agency arrested Raut on Aug 1 in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra Chawl in suburban Goregaon and related financial property transactions involving his wife and alleged associates.
The said it has found a trail of cash transactions of crores in addition to what had been found earlier. The agency sought Raut’s custody till August 10. The court granted it till August 8.
While extending the custody, the court noted that the ED has made “remarkable progress” in the investigation.
Raut highlighted the poor condition of the room in which he was being kept after interrogation. He told the court that he was kept in a windowless room.
The court asked the ED to explain why a 60-year-old leader was kept in a windowless room. The public prosecutor said the room has no window because it has an air-conditioner. To this, Raut said he can’t use the air conditioner because of his health condition.
The agency then promised that he would be kept in a room with proper ventilation.
Special Judge M G Deshpande said: “The ED shall take all steps in view of the manner in which the accused is allowed to stay after his interrogation, given the background of his health. Accused is at liberty to point out if arrangement is not made.”
Earlier, the ED claimed that Raut and his family were the direct beneficiaries of Rs 1.06 crore of the Rs 112 crore received by Pravin Raut from real estate company Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd.
Of this, Rs 13.94 lakh was shown to have been received by Varsha Raut, Sanjay Raut’s wife, as returns on her investment of Rs 5,625 in Avani Infrastructure, a firm floated in the name of Pravin Raut’s wife Madhuri.