Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut walks out of jail on bail after three months

Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 1 with his alleged aide, Pravin Raut.

This was Raut’s first bail plea since his arrest. He had approached the court for bail in September stating that the ED’s case against him was filed to “crush the opposition faced by the ruling party”. Raut had said in his plea that he has been a senior Shiv Sena leader for more than 18 years and the case was a “perfect example of abuse of power and political vendetta”.

The ED case relates to the redevelopment of Patra Chawl in Goregaon where it has been claimed that instead of providing houses for displaced residents, directors of infrastructure company HDIL and a company named Guru Ashish Constructions cheated them. The central agency had alleged that the total amount of Rs 1039.70 crore was received in the accounts of HDIL and Guru Ashish Constructions and of which Rs 112 crore was received by co-accused, Pravin Raut. The ED claimed that Pravin is Raut’s “frontman” and alleged that the MP had received proceeds of crime through him.