Sanjay Raut demands ED, police probe into Manoj Jarange's alleged Rs 500 crore payout

Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate ED and Maharashtra Police into allegations surrounding a purported Rs 500 crore payment linked to Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange PatilIn his letter dated Monday Raut called for the ED to investigate the alleged financial transactions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA The demand comes after Jarange Patil released a purported audio recording that allegedly refers to a Rs 500 crore payment involving Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shindes son Shiv Sena MP Shrikant ShindeThe allegations remain unverified and the authenticity of the recording has not been independently establishedJarange Patils Rs 500 crore allegationsRaut said Jarange Patil had alleged on October 20 that Eknath Shinde had taken Rs 500 crore from senior BJP leaders in Maharashtra with the money allegedly intended to be passed on to the activist through Shrikant Shinde According to the allegations the purported payment was meant to weaken or silence Jarange Patils agitation ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly electionsJarange Patil subsequently released an audio clip that he described as evidence supporting his claims The recording purportedly contains a discussion about the alleged payment and strategies concerning the activists influence ahead of the electionsHowever the recordings authenticity and the identities of the speakers have not been independently verified Eknath Shinde has denied the allegations while Shrikant Shinde has also denied receiving the money allegedly meant for Jarange PatilRaut questions source and whereabouts of fundsIn his letter Raut questioned the source of the alleged Rs 500 crore and sought clarity on whether the money had reached Jarange Patil He called on the Union Home Minister to direct Maharashtra Police and the ED to investigate the alleged transactions establish the money trail and examine the roles of those named in the allegationsRaut also referred to the alleged involvement of senior BJP leaders and the two Shindes arguing that the claims warranted a detailed investigation He urged the authorities to identify those responsible if any wrongdoing is established and make the findings publicRaut cites earlier Rs 100 crore allegationsRaut drew a comparison with the allegations made in 2021 by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh against then Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh Singh had alleged that Deshmukh set a Rs 100 crore monthly collection target for police officialsRaut argued that the current controversy involved a substantially larger sum and warranted an investigation into possible financial irregularities However the allegations in the two cases are distinct and the claims surrounding the purported Rs 500 crore payment have not been established as factRaut asks Amit Shah to order ED investigationIn a post on X Raut shared his demand for an ED investigation and questioned the source and destination of the alleged fundsThe Rs 500 crore matter in Maharashtra must have surely reached you by now Until now the BJP has been buying MPs MLAs political parties and elections Now it has begun buying agitations as well The BJP handed over money to Shrikant Shinde so that Rs 500 crore could be given to Manoj Jarange Patil Where did this money come from And did it actually reach Jarange or not This is a matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA Kindly entrust the investigation to the Enforcement Directorate ED said Raut in his post on XWith inputs from IANS