Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut arrested by ED, alleges conspiracy

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged land scam case on Sunday midnight and produced in court on Monday.

The Maharashtra government deployed heavy force at the ED office in Mumbai where Raut was taken for medical tests and then produced at the court. Before being taken to the court, Raut told the media that it was a “conspiracy to finish us”. His arrest has sparked protests by party workers in several places in Mumbai. Raut was arrested after being detained the entire day in his residence. He had skipped the ED summons twice.

The Shiv Sena raised the issue in Parliament, where party MP Priyanka Chaturvedi gave a notice for discussion on “misuse of premier investigative agencies by the Central government for political agendas”. The Congress leaders spoke in support of Sanjay Raut, who is an important member of Uddhav Thackeray’s team. A faction of the Shiv Sena had rebelled against Thackeray and team recently. Eknath Shinde, leading the rebel group, has recently formed the new government in Maharashtra, backed by the BJP, after bringing down the Thackeray-led government. Uddhav Thackeray had the support of coalition partners Congress and the NCP.