A day after ten of his family premises were raided and his son Vihang was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning, influential Shiv Sena MLA and real estate development Pratap Sarnaik on Wednesday did not appear before the ED, saying that he had gone into quarantine on his return from Goa.
Fifty-six-year-old Sanaik, who was not present when the ED raided the residences of his two sons and eight other premises at Thane and in Mumbai, was reportedly away in Goa.
Sarnaik, who met Shiv Sena MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut at the office of Shiv Sena newspaper “Saamana”, went into quarantine. His family sources said that Sarnaik and his son Purvesh had quarantined themselves at their Bandra flat in north-west Mumbai.
In a letter submitted to the ED at its Mumbai on his behalf, Sarnaik’s brother-in-law told the investigating agency that Sarnaik was currently in quarantine, while son Vihang was attending to his wife Anita who has been admitted to Thane’s Jupiter Hospital. He urged ED that Sarnaik be given one week’s time to appear before the ED.
Reacting to Sarnaik’s “failure” to appear before the ED for questioning, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya wondered if Sarnaik was “scared” of either Covid-19 or ED or money-laundering and benami transactions.
Sarnaik and his family members are being investigated for their links with TOPS GRUP, a security service provider company owned by Rahul Nanda. On his part, Nanda has gone on record, saying that Sarnaik was his friend for the past 25 years but had not invested in his company.
The case registered by the ED against Nanda and Sarnaik is based filed by two senior employees of TOPS GRUP, who were terminated from service for alleged misappropriation of money. In their complaint, the two employees had alleged that Nanda had “diverted” money to an off-shore trust and his company had indulged in alleged irregularities in the acquisition of a firm in the UK The Shield Guarding Co Ltd for Rs 140 crore in 2017. On his part, Nanda has told the ED that he had set up a trust in Mauritius as per laws.
On Tuesday, the ED conducted simultaneous raids on two residence and eight other premises of Sarnaik and his family, and detained his son Vihang for questioning. Soon afterwards, a political controversy broke out in the state, as the ruling MVA partners slammed the BJP for “misusing’ its official machinery to get at them on the occasion of their government celebrating first anniversary in office.
Pratap Sanaik is a three-time MLA from Ovala-Majiwada constituency in Thane, and is a real estate developer and the Chairman of Vihang Group of Companies with interests in varied sectors.
Within hours after the ED carried out raids at ten Sarnaik’s family premises, including son Vihang Sarnaik’s residence at Hirandandi Estate, at Thane and Mumbai, NCP chief Sharad Pawar joined other MVA leaders, including Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and Maharashtra Congress president Pratap Thorat in accusing the BJP of using the central investigating agencies for settling its political scores.
Accompanied by a huge posse of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, the ED officials carried out searches at the residences of Sarnaik’s son Vihang and Puvesh and eight other premises belonging to Sarnaiks. Pratap Sarnaik was not present when the raids took place.
After the raids, the ED officials detained Vihang whom they took to their office where they questioned him for more than six hours, before letting him off late in the evening.
Dubbing the ED raids on Sarnaiks’ premises as an act of “political vindictiveness”, Shiv Sena spokesperson and MP said: “The raids carried out on the premises of Sarnaiks were an act of political vindictiveness. If you want to arrest our people, please go ahead and do. We are not scared of any one. If you (BJP) have guts, please fight against us openly rather than using the central investigating agencies our people”.
Without naming the BJP, Raut said that the party should forget about its dream of returning to power in Maharashtra for the next 25 years “no matter how much pressure it exerts on us or spreads terror through agencies”
In a sharp criticism of the BJP over the raids conducted on Sarnaiks’ premises, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said: “What we are witnessing in the state today is an act of desperation. Instead of responding to questions being raised by the people (about the lack of governance), the ruling party at the Centre is using its official machinery against its opponents. This is not done. Our MVA government is about to complete its first anniversary in office. Having realised that it won't return to power in the state, the ruling BJP at the Centre is misusing its official machinery against its political opponents”.