Raut appears before ED

Mumbai, July 1 (Bureau) Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here in connection with a money laundering case.”I’m a fearless person because I’ve never done anything wrong in my life. If at all this is political, we’ll get to know that later. Right now, I feel I’m going to a neutral agency, and I trust them completely,” Raut said as he entered the ED office accompanied by his lawyer.According to sources, the ED officials are questioning him regarding his involvement in a case linked to the redevelopment of Patra Chawl in the Goregaon area here and financial transactions purportedly involving his wife, Varsha Raut.

Raut was summoned at a time when Shiv Sena was battling rebellion from a group of its MLAs and struggling to save the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.Raut earlier appealed to the party workers to not gather in front of the probe agency’s office.”I will be appearing before the ED today I respect the summons issued to me and it’s my duty to co-operate with the investigation agencies. I appeal to Shiv Sena workers not to gather at the ED office. Don’t worry!” Raut tweeted.Raut also tagged Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in his tweet.