Varsha Raut, wife of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for inquiry on 11 January, in connection with the PMC Bank fraud case, the probe agency said on Wednesday, 6 January.
The summons come after Varsha appeared before ED for questioning on 4 January where she was reportedly questioned about the Rs 55 lakh interest-free loan transferred to her account in 2010 and 2011 by her business partner Madhuri Raut, wife of Pravin Raut, who is an accused in the case.
Sena MP Raut has claimed that the BJP government is using central agencies to target his family for political vendetta. “Politics is about face-to-face conflict. Targeting women of a household is an act of cowardice,” he had earlier said in a press conference.
Madhuri Raut is the director of a company named Guruashish Constructions, which is a subsidiary of Housing Development Infrastructure Limited (HDIL).
The ED has been probing certain officials in the alleged loan fraud in the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank since October last year, against HDIL for allegedly causing loss worth Rs 4,355 crore to PMC Bank, and corresponding gains to themselves.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)