Sanjay Raut after being released from the Arthur Road jail. (Express Photo by Ganehs Shirsekar)Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday walked out of the Arthur road jail on Wednesday, hours after being granted bail in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Sena MP and his aide, co-accused Pravin Raut, were produced before a special court today. Pravin, too, was granted bail. Later, the Enforcement Directorate moved Bombay High Court seeking an urgent stay on Raut’s bail, a matter that was refused by the Bench and posted for hearing on Thursday.
Adding to the traffic woes of Mumbaikars, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to demolish and reconstruct the flyover at Parel TT, on Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, in Parel near Dadar. The bridge is likely to be closed in the next one month, senior BMC officials said. Just a day ago, the BMC had closed the Gokhale Bridge in Andheri for traffic, after it was found unsafe and dangerous, as its girders had eroded. The civic body had issued work orders for the project in October, and is now awaiting a no-objection certificate. The entire project will take six months to complete, including demolition and reconstruction.
Meanwhile, protests against the Marathi historical action film “Har Har Mahadev” over alleged “distortion of facts” continued for the second day in a row on Tuesday in Maharashtra with activists of the NCP and an organisation founded by Sambhaji Chhatrapati, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, disrupting the screening at a multiplex in Nashik city, PTI reported. Earlier in the day, the Thane Police registered a case against senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad and at least 100 others for allegedly roughing up spectators at a multiplex screening in Thane on Monday night.
Gokhale Bridge, which connects Andheri (east) and Andheri (west)
Following his release from Arthur road jail on bail, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut reiterated his loyalty to the party. "I have spent my whole life in Shiv Sena. I lived with Sena and will die with Sena. I will prefer to die, but won't leave Sena ever," he said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of unleashing an "economic tsunami" by carrying out demonetisation in November 2016.
Addressing a meeting in Nanded district of central Maharashtra on the 63rd day of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, he also said that projects like Tata- Airbus military aircraft venture and Vendanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant were taken away from the state and given to Gujarat because of the Assembly elections in the neighbouring state.
"These projects will be given to two-three industrialists who are the prime minister's friends, and the country's wealth is accumulating in their hands. Ports, infrastructure, telecom, agriculture sectors have been given to these people," Gandhi alleged. (PTI)
Calling his arrest illegal and a “witch-hunt”, a special court granted bail to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday, over three months after his arrest in connection with a redevelopment project in the northern suburbs of Mumbai. The court also rapped the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stating that it had used the exceptional powers of arrest “very casually”.
Special judge M G Deshpande said that Raut and his co-accused Pravin Raut, who was also granted bail, were arrested “for no reasons” by the central agency. Read more
Author and philanthropist Sudha Murthy said she did not know who Sambhaji Bhide was and bowed before him as he is an elderly person. A video showing Sudha Murthy touching the feet of Bhide, a right-wing leader, in Sangli in western Maharashtra had gone viral, evoking sharp reactions.
Bhide was recently served a notice by the State Women's Commission for refusing to talk to a woman journalist because she had no ‘bindi' on her forehead.
“I don't know about his personal views. He is an elderly person, an old man. It is our tradition to touch the feet of an elderly person,” said Sudha Murthy, the wife of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy, referring to the issue. (PTI)
Following his release from the Arthur Road jail, Shiv sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, "We are the ones who fight, we will keep fighting."
"There have been many attacks on the Shiv Sena in the past three months but we have not given up. You can see this (the celebration by Sainiks). This is Balasaheb's Shiv Sena. It is fire..
He further said he will visit Balasaheb Thackeray's memorial, adding that, "Our soul is there."
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut walked out of the Arthur Road jail, months after his arrest in the Patra Chal revelopment case.
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Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray said Sanjay Raut us a loyal Shiv Sainik of Balasaheb Thackeray's. "It has come to fore that even after using so much pressure, he did not.commit betrayal and switched sides under the pressure. He is not coward like others," he said.
Yuva Sena leader Varun Sardesai said that not only Shiv Sainiks but all the people of Maharashtra are happy and celebrating today as Sanjay Raut has been granted bail by the court. "He is a true fighter and Shiv Sainik. As a Shiv Sainiks we all are proud of Sanjay Raut for not bowing down to the pressure," he said.
Hundreds of Shiv Sainiks gathered outside the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai awaiting the release of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut who was granted bail by a special court in a money laundering case a few hours back.
As the word spread that Raut got bail, Shiv Sena workers gathered outside the special court and burst firecrackers. They smeared each other with 'gulal' or coloured powder. Many Sainiks assembled outside the residences of Sanjay Raut in suburban Bhandup and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray in Bandra.
Raut's supporters began decorating his bungalow and a sound system was brought in. Raut's lawyer said they will try to complete the formalities by the evening to facilitate his release from prison.
The Bombay High Court refused to grant urgent stay on the bail granted to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut by a lower court in an alleged money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Stating that it can not pass such an order without hearing both the parties, the high court posted the matter for hearing on Thursday.
A special court earlier in the day granted bail to Raut and co-accused Pravin Raut while rejecting the ED's request to stay the effect of the order till Friday.
"I have not even looked at the order. I don't know on what grounds bail has been granted. I don't know on what grounds you (the ED) have challenged the order. How can I grant a stay now without even hearing the parties...even if I have to make a prima facie order now," she said.
"If after hearing, I pass an order cancelling the bail then the accused persons can be taken back in custody," Justice Dangre added.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Rohit Pawar tweeted a video of a tiger being released from a cage and tagged it to Raut.
The truth has prevailed, Pawar, whose party is an ally of the Thackeray-led Sena faction, said.
Sanjay Raut's brother and Vikhroli MLA Sunil Raut said, "The blessings of people were with Sanjay Raut. He will again start working for the party to see that the saffron flag unfurls at the Vidhan Sabha." The truth has prevailed, he added.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) spokesperson Sushma Andhare said till the time the party has leaders like Sanjay Raut, it has nothing to fear.
"The tiger is back,” said Andhare, the deputy leader of the Thackeray-led Sena faction.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Rajya Sabha member Raut in July this year for his alleged role in financial irregularities in connection with the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl (row tenement) in suburban Goregaon.
Raut had in his bail plea claimed the case against him was a perfect example of "abuse of power" and "political vendetta". The ED had opposed Raut's plea, saying he played a major role in the money laundering case related to the Patra Chawl redevelopment and acted "behind the curtains" to avoid the money trail.
The ED's probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl and related financial transactions involving his wife and associates.
Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani visited Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at his official residence in Mumbai.
The Tuesday night meeting between Adani and Shinde lasted for nearly 45 minutes. Adani Group has interests in ports, airports, power generation and transmission, and real estate. The group supplies electricity to the Mumbai suburban district.
Writer and philanthropist Sudha Murthy prayed for the well-being of her son-in-law and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at a temple in coastal Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district.
Murthy, who arrived in Devgad tehsil of the district, around 500 km from Mumbai, the previous evening, visited the Durga Devi temple at Baparde village in the morning.
A video which went viral on social media showed the priest at the temple praying to Goddess Durga on Murthy's behalf, seeking well-being of her son-in-law who recently became the first Indian-origin prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said his party stands for unity while the BJP believes in uniformity, and asserted that their Bharat Jodo Yatra is not "mann ki baat" but aims to highlight people's concerns.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP do not believe in ''unity in diversity '' of which India is an example, Ramesh said addressing a press conference in Maharashtra's Nanded district during the Congress's ongoing foot march.
Maharashtra has given new energy to the yatra and it will cover 24 km on Wednesday instead of 22 km being covered daily, he added.
Three passengers were injured when some unidentified persons threw stones at a local train in Maharashtra's Thane district, railway police said.
The incident took place at around 8 pm on Tuesday near Kalwa, they said. The injured persons were taken to a hospital for treatment, an official said. (PTI)
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut will walk out of jail two hours after the release orders are received, Arthur Road jail officials said.