Mumbai, November 9, 2022: On Wednesday, a special PMLA court in Mumbai granted bail to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case.
In July, Raut had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his alleged role in financial irregularities pertaining to the Patra Chawl Redevelopment Project in suburban Goregaon.
Raut had claimed in his bail plea that the case lodged against him was a perfect example of “abuse of power” and “political vendetta”. Raut’s plea was, however, contested by the ED who stated that the Shiv Sena MP had played a crucial role in the money laundering case and had acted “behind the curtains” to avoid the money trail.
In 2008, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) had assigned the redevelopment contract of the patra chawl to Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited (GACPL), a sister company of the Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL).
GACPL was tasked with the responsibility of building 672 flats for the tenants and also give certain flats to MHADA.
However, the tenants did not get a single flat in the past 14 years as the company did not carry out any redevelopment and sold land parcels and Floor Space Index (FSI) to other builders for Rs. 1034 crore as per ED.
