A Mumbai court on Monday extended the judicial custody of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut by 14 days in a money laundering case related to the redevelopment of a tenement building, reported Bar and Bench.
The Rajya Sabha MP was arrested on July 31 after the Enforcement Directorate searched his house in Mumbai. Since his arrest the court has extended Raut’s judicial custody on three occasions.
The Enforcement Directorate is investigating Raut’s involvement in the Patra Chawl scam, which involves an alleged fraud of Rs 1,034 crore. The central agency has alleged that Raut and his aides made fraudulent financial transactions related to the redevelopment of a chawl – a building consisting of several tenements – in Mumbai.
On September 15, the Enforcement Directorate had filed a supplementary prosecution complaint, which is the central agency’s equivalent for a supplementary chargesheet. The agency had filed the first chargesheet against Raut on April 1.
While opposing Raut’s bail application on September 16, the Enforcement Directorate had said that he is an influential and powerful person. “If released on bail, he may influence and tamper [with] evidence,” it said. “There are instances of him threatening witnesses.”
The supplementary prosecution complaint alleged that in order to avoid trial, Sanjay Raut worked “behind the curtains” while his confidant Praveen…
