Rs 500-Crore Jarange Patil Row: Sanjay Raut Seeks ED Probe, Writes To Amit Shah

News india Rs 500-Crore Jarange Patil Row: Sanjay Raut Seeks ED Probe, Writes To Amit Shah

Last Updated:October 26, 2026, 15:55 IST

In his letter dated October 26, Sanjay Raut has sought a probe by the Maharashtra Police and the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into allegations by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil that ₹500 crore was allegedly given to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde but never reached its intended destination.

In his letter dated October 26, Raut has sought a probe by the Maharashtra Police and the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

He has asked investigators to establish the source of the money, trace its movement and determine what happened to the alleged amount.

In his letter, the Rajya Sabha MP referred to an alleged audio clip in which Jarange Patil reportedly claimed that the money had been taken from senior BJP leaders and handed to Shinde.

According to Raut’s account, the money was allegedly intended for Jarange Patil, but never reached him. Raut claimed the alleged transaction was linked to an attempt to bring the Maratha reservation agitation to an end before the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

He has urged the Centre to direct the relevant agencies to investigate the allegations and identify those responsible, if any wrongdoing is established. The allegations, if substantiated, could raise serious questions about the use of money in Maharashtra’s politically sensitive Maratha reservation agitation. However, the claims cited by Raut have not been independently established.

Taking a swipe at the BJP, Raut alleged that the party had previously been accused of engineering political defections and influencing electoral outcomes, and claimed that the latest allegations raised questions about whether money was also being used to manage political agitations.

The letter also draws a comparison with an earlier controversy involving former Maharashtra police commissioner Param Bir Singh. Raut recalled allegations that the then state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had sought to collect ₹100 crore.

He argued that the present allegations warranted scrutiny, while maintaining that the two cases should be examined on their respective evidence. Raut has specifically referred to Shrikant Shinde, the son of Eknath Shinde and a Lok Sabha MP, in seeking an investigation into the alleged money trail.

The demand puts the spotlight on the BJP-Shiv Sena relationship and the politically charged Maratha reservation issue. But the central questions remain unanswered: whether ₹500 crore was actually transferred, where the money originated, who handled it and whether any financial or criminal offence took place.

The allegations have added a fresh political flashpoint to Maharashtra’s already contentious Maratha reservation debate. Whether the alleged ₹500 crore transaction took place, where the money came from and what happened to it are questions that can only be settled through evidence and a thorough investigation. For now, Raut has put the ball in the Centre’s court, seeking an ED probe into claims that could have significant political ramifications if substantiated.

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Mayuresh Ganapatye

Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. Follow him at @...Read More

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