On 4th May, film producer Swapna Patkar, a witness in the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering investigation into the Patra Chawl redevelopment case involving Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut, wrote to Neelam Gore, the deputy chairman of the legislative council, accusing the Rajya Sabah MP of harassing her and her family. She stated that she stays with her mother in Mumbai’s Santacruz.
She charged, “Sanjay Raut is harassing me and my family. Even though I have written thousands of letters so far, I am suffering. I am followed wherever I go. I was chased at BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) on May 3 as well. I was attacked before and a police case was registered but no action has been taken so far.” She asserted that spies had been sent by the parliamentarian to keep an eye on her. She further stated, “One (spy) was also arrested but no action was taken against Raut. He threatened me and abused me, but no action was taken. He is not called to the police station. Threatening calls came from Dubai and Pakistan. My vehicle was attacked and threatened. Bottles of liquor were thrown at my house.”
Patra Chawl scam pertains to the Goregaon area of Mumbai and is of approximately Rs 1034 crore. This land parcel is owned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, also referred to as MHADA. Properties valued at Rs 2 crore belonging to Varsha Raut, Sanjay Raut’s wife, and Rs 9 crore of his own have been seized.
Pravin Raut, a real estate tycoon who is also a co-accused in the case, has been charged with defrauding Patra Chawl residents. This site was to be developed into 3000 apartments by a construction company. 672 apartments were to be provided to the residents of this area. Parts of this large plot were sold to other builders in 2011, while the remainder was supposed to be donated to MHADA. The original chawl inhabitants have not yet received their flats.
The PMC (Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative) Bank scam, which surfaced in Maharashtra in 2020, was being investigated at the time when Pravin Raut and his company, Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited, surfaced as significant players in the case. It was subsequently discovered that Varsha Raut obtained a sum of Rs 55 lakh from the builder’s wife’s bank account. Sanjay Raut is accused of using the same funds to buy a Dadar apartment. That flat is presently sealed by ED.
Sanjay Raut had previously claimed that a fabricated case had been made against him as a political retaliation. The ED, however, refuted the allegation of political vengeance and maintained that the leader was completely complicit in the money laundering case. The agency highlighted, “The role of Sanjay Raut’s proxy and confidant Pravin Raut has been comprehensively brought out in the supplementary charge sheet filed on September 15, 2022. In order to avoid trial Sanjay Raut has been operating behind the curtains and Pravin Raut being his front man.”
