Maharashtra
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut sent to ED custody till Thursday (Ld)
A special court here on Monday sent Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut to the custody of Enforcement Directorate for 3 days, till Thursday, in a money laundering case arising out of the Patra Chawl land scam.
Special PMLA court judge M.G. Deshpande pronounced the order as Raut was produced before it, hours after he was arrested by the ED here early this morning.
While ED’s special counsel Hiten Venegaonkar sought 8 days custody, Raut’s lawyer, senior counsel Ashok Mundargi opposed it on various grounds including the health problems of his client who was a cardiac patient.
Venegaonkar argued that Raut was not cooperating with the investigations and hence his custodial interrogation was necessary and the agency wanted to probe other aspects of the Patra Chawl scam and related issues.
He contended that co-accused Pravin Raut was merely a front-man and all deals pertaining to the Patra Chawl scam were perpetrated by Sanjay Raut.
Opposing the ED’s contentions, Mundargi said that Raut’s arrest was politically motivated and pleaded for minimum custody for his client.
“He is a patient, suffering from heart-related issues and has undergone surgery, and all medical papers pertaining to this have been submitted to the court,” he said.
Venegaonkar claimed that Pravin Raut has received Rs 112 crore from HDIL in which Rs 1.6 crore was transferred to Sanjay Raut, which needs to be probed.
He also argued that Pravin Raut acted as the front-man of Sanjay Raut even in the purchase of lands in Alibaug, and Raigad, and the duo were close to each other and went on several foreign tours, etc.
The ED further alleged that Raut had threatened one of the witnesses (a woman), appeared once for probe and skipped two other summonses, and he was not cooperating with the investigators.
In response, Mundargi said that the allegations listed in the remand application are vague and stem from a political vendetta as the case dates back to 2018 but is being raised now owing to the changed political scenario.
On the ED’s contentions of non-cooperation, Mundargi said Raut had already informed the ED that he was involved in elections, he was in New Delhi, and not running away from the probe as he was attending Parliament.
After hearing both sides, Special Judge Deshpande turned down the ED’s plea for 8 days custody, and noted that custody till August 4 would be sufficient.
“I am of the opinion that such a long custody of 8 days is not warranted… I am of the opinion that accused (Raut) is remanded to ED custody up to August 4 that will suffice for investigations,” he said.
Taking cognisance of Raut’s heart disease and his surgery, the court said that during custody, he may be given some rest instead of interrogating him till late night.
It has also allowed Raut to meet his legal team in the mornings and the ED will not interrogate him after 10 p.m. in view of his health status.
The ED is probing alleged money-laundering that was detected in the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl by HDIL subsidiary, Guru Ashish Constructions Pvt Ltd.
While Pravin Raut, an ex-Director in the Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, was arrested earlier, the ED also attached his properties and assets belonging to Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha, valued at over Rs 11 crore, in April.
On July 1, the ED had summoned and questioned Sanjay Raut for over 10 hours and then called him again on three occasions, but he had sought time till August 7.
The ED raided Raut’s Bhandup bungalow at dawn on July 31, and he was questioned for over nine hours.
Later, he was taken under detention to the agency offices where he was again grilled for over 7 hours before he was placed under arrest.
Crime
‘Not Siya, Chetan pushed Ketan Agarwal’; police recreate crime scene at Lohagad Fort

Pune, June 28: As the investigation into the alleged murder of Ketan Agarwal proceeds, police on Sunday morning took the accused, the victim’s fiancee Siya Goyal, to the Lohagad Fort near Pune, Maharashtra, to recreate the exact sequence of events that took place on the day of the purported crime.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) (Lonavala division) Gajanan Tompe said, “Today, according to Siya’s description, we recreated the crime scene at the Lohagad fort. Superintendent of Police (SP) and other senior officials were also present (during the recreation).”
“Siya is currently an accused in this case, and the investigation is ongoing accordingly,” he told media.
The police reportedly carried a fibre-made dummy to reconstruct the crime scene.
Officials said that during the reconstruction process, Siya revealed the entire conspiracy to the police.
According to information shared by a senior police officer, the victim’s fiancée admitted during questioning and the reconstruction that she, along with her associate Chetan, had planned to eliminate Ketan.
As per the plan, Siya was supposed to walk to a higher point at Lohagad Fort and pretend to tie her shoelaces. As soon as she bent down under the pretext of tying them, Chetan was to approach Ketan from behind and attack him.
According to police sources, the reconstruction of events revealed that Chetan allegedly came from behind and suddenly pushed Ketan, causing him to lose his balance and fall approximately 300 feet into a deep gorge. The victim reportedly died on the spot.
The police have video-recorded Siya’s alleged confession during the crime scene reconstruction as well as the entire reenactment. Further investigation will proceed accordingly.
Meanwhile, the probe has revealed that both the accused, Siya and Chetan, had googled ways to kill Ketan Agarwal.
According to reports, Siya and Chetan went to the fort alone before committing the crime to “rehearse” the murder. The two had also prepared and practised their answers, in case they were caught by the police.
Investigation further revealed that the two murder accused had planned to disguise themselves during the murder to avoid suspicion.
Earlier, it was reported that Siya and Chetan had systematically wiped their entire phone chat history and recycle bins before and after the crime. Their mobile phones have been sent to a forensic laboratory to retrieve the logs of deleted chats, officials said.
Maharashtra
Mumbai: Crime Branch action against self-styled police officer arrested on charges of extortion

Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed to have arrested a self-styled fake police officer who used to commit fraud by pasting fake police identity cards and several government stickers on his car. He used to use a car with police stickers to gain people’s trust in the name of getting loans from banks and defraud them by collecting money from them. A 54-year-old man involved in these crimes has been arrested. He claimed to be a senior police officer. The police have arrested him with his fake documents. Cases have been registered against him in Kasturba Marg, Sakinaka, and Kherwadi police stations in Mumbai, this was informed by DCP Raj Tilak Roshan in a press conference. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
Maharashtra
The race to save his son’s political career has begun, Uddhav Thackeray should start an ‘apology tour’, Shiv Sena Secretary Kiran Pawaskar attacks Uddhav

Mumbai: Shiv Sena Secretary and Spokesperson Kiran Pavaskar has strongly attacked Uddhav Thackeray’s visit to Vidarbha and Marathwada. He claimed that the visit of the MPs who joined Shiv Sena to the Lok Sabha constituencies is not to apologize to the voters, but to save Aaditya Thackeray’s political career. At a press conference in Mumbai, Pavaskar said that if Uddhav Thackeray really cared about the people and workers, he would have fought the local body elections as well. He alleged that during this time, the workers and candidates were left to save their lives, while now the MLAs are being visited after they left the party. Pavskar said that this is not an apology to the people, but an attempt to save his son’s political base. He also claimed that many MPs joined the Shiv Sena due to dissatisfaction with the work of the Uddhav Thackeray group. Pavskar said that while Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray are currently touring Vidarbha, during the municipal, town council, and district council elections, the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray’s faction did not even plan to go out of Bandra. They left their workers and candidates to their own safety. He said that many members joined the Shiv Sena due to dissatisfaction with the work of the Uddhav Thackeray faction. Now an attempt is being made to apologize to the voters by visiting the Lok Sabha constituencies of these same MPs. But the question is, if the people and workers were so concerned, why was this visit not made earlier? Pawaskar said that the workers, office bearers, taluka heads, and district chiefs of Vidarbha and Marathwada will ask the same question to the Uddhav Thackeray faction. He alleged that the visit is not being made to apologize to the voters but to save Aaditya Thackeray’s political career.
Pawaskar further said that to ensure his son’s victory in a reserved constituency like Worli, the Uddhav Thackeray faction had to cancel the tickets of two MLAs. MLAs Sunil Shinde and Sachin Ahir had to be reinstated as Legislative Council candidates. He alleged that even today, the Uddhav Thackeray faction is visiting Vidarbha only to save its son’s political career.
Pawaskar said that 65 corporators have joined the Shiv Sena, expressing confidence in the leadership of core Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde. Similarly, 40 MLAs from Uddhav Thackeray’s faction joined the Shiv Sena, taking the party’s MLA strength to 60. He claimed that six MLAs have joined the Shiv Sena today, and in future this number will increase to 12.
Pavaskar said that the allegations of breaking up MLAs, MPs and corporators no longer make sense. He said that the Uddhav Thackeray faction should examine itself as to why all these public representatives are joining the Shiv Sena to work under the leadership of Shiv Sena’s central leader and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. He said that even today, MLAs, MPs and other public representatives from every corner of the state are eager to join the Shiv Sena. The main reason for this is that Eknath Shinde’s leadership works at the grassroots level and not from home. He also criticized Uddhav Thackeray’s faction on the issue. Pavskar claimed that important news regarding new additions to the party will be released soon in the coming days.
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