Showing solidarity, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday met the family members of party leader Sanjay Raut, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. Thackeray along with party MP Arvind Sawant, MLA Ravindra Waiker and Shiv Sena leader Milind Narvekar visited Raut’s residence in suburban Bhandup.
At Raut’s residence, the former chief minister met the arrested Shiv Sena MP’s mother, wife, daughters and other family members. Raut’s mother and wife got emotional while being taken away by the ED on Sunday.
Later, in a press conference, Thackeray described Raut as a close friend and addressed him by his first name. He also hailed him as a “hardcore Shiv Sainik” who did not succumb to pressure. Taking a dig at the former CM’s gesture, Deepak Kesarkar, spokesperson of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, welcomed Thackeray at Raut’s residence, but said he did not meet other party leaders who were being probed by central agencies.
Earlier in the day, Raut’s brother and party MLA Sunil Raut told PTI that Thackeray’s hand was with the family of the arrested leader.
Raut, a staunch BJP critic, was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a ‘chawl’ (an old row house) in Mumbai after searching for nine hours at Rajya Sabha MP Raut’s residence. During this, Rs 11.5 lakh in cash was seized.
Raut had denied the allegations and said that he was implicated because of political vendetta.
On Monday, the Shiv Sena MP was produced in a special court, which sent him to ED custody till August 4.
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