ED raids 7 premises linked to Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Ravindra Waikar in luxury hotel construction case

Waikar, his wife Manisha, Nehlanai, Lalchandani, the late Bindra and Dubey were booked in September 2023 under charges of criminal breach of trust, cheating, dishonestly inducing delivery of property and criminal conspiracy by the Mumbai police Economic Offences Wing (EOW). The ED’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case is based on the EOW’s FIR.

The FIR was registered after BMC sub-engineer Santosh Mandavkar filed a complaint at the Azad Maidan police station and the investigation was forwarded to the EOW.

As per the FIR, Waikar had entered into a contract with the BMC after getting permission to run a sports facility at the plot in Jogeshwari. The permission was granted when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power. In early 2023, a notice was issued to him for using a plot of land reserved for a public garden to construct a hotel.

No arrests have been made in Waikar’s case, though the EOW last year questioned the Jogeshwari East MLA and his wife.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya had alleged that Waikar was involved in a Rs 500 crore scam.

“My statement has been recorded, and I have submitted details that will prove that I have followed all rules and laws in the said project,” Waikar had previously said in his defence.