The case pertaining to drug kingpin Lalit Patil, which has created a political furore in Maharashtra, saw more arrests and suspensions with the Mumbai police finally nabbing Harish Pant, said to be a close associate of Patil and a vital member of the drug racket, from Uttarakhand.
According to the police, Pant was finally caught on Thursday, being the 18th accused to be arrested in the ₹300 crore drug-bust case at a factory in Nashik.
On Friday, the Saki Naka police had produced Lalit Patil and Pant before a court in Andheri where they were remanded in police custody till October 30.
Pant is reportedly known by his alias ‘Doctor’ owing to his expertise in drug manufacturing, said authorities.
The Saki Naka police in Mumbai said it was Pant who had helped Patil and his brother, Bhushan (both in police custody at present) to set up the machinery at different places in Nashik, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune to manufacture drugs.
Earlier this week, the police arrested had arrested one Amir Shaikh, said to be the chief distributor of the drugs in the MMR region.
Patil had escaped on October 2 from Pune’s Sassoon General Hospital where he was reportedly undergoing treatment for tuberculosis.
The Pune police today suspended Assistant Police Inspector Savita Bhagwat in connection with Patil’s ‘escape’ from Sassoon Hospital. Her suspension has been attributed to security lapses and “irresponsible conduct” in letting Patil flee the hospital.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, the legislator from Pune’s Kasba Peth area, has accused Dr. Sanjeev Thakur, the dean of Sassoon Hospital and B.J. Medical College, of allegedly providing “five-star treatment” to the drug kingpin during his hospital sojourn.
“Right from the first day, I have been saying that Lalit Patil was undergoing bogus treatment at the Sassoon Hospital and had enjoyed the patronage of a powerful politician. I demand Sanjeev Thakur be arrested for permitting Patil to run a drug racket within the Sassoon Hospital premises,” said Mr. Dhangekar.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve, who visited Sassoon Hospital on Friday, demanded to know how it was possible for Patil to run a drug racket inside the hospital. He demanded a stern probe into the affair.
Patil was first arrested in connection with a multi-crore mephedrone racket busted by the Pimpri-Chinchwad police in October 2020. He was then sent to Pune’s Yerawada Central Prison, but was admitted to Sassoon hospital for treatment of hernia and tuberculosis.
On September 30 this year, the Pune police had arrested one Subhash Mandal, said to be Patil’s aide, from near the hospital premises with over 1.71 kg of mephedrone worth ₹2.14 crore.
Officials alleged that Patil had supplied the drug to Mandal through a staff member of the Sassoon hospital canteen.
However, Patil fled from the hospital when he was being taken for an X-ray on October 2, before being finally nabbed by the Mumbai police on October 17 from Karnataka.
In yet another development related to the case, a local court Pune today extended the police custody of Rehan Ansari - another Patil aide - till October 30
A resident of Dharavi in Mumbai, Ansari was arrested on September 23 by the Mumbai police and later lodged at Mumbai’s Taloja jail. On October 20, the Pune city police had taken his custody to probe his alleged involvement in the mephedrone seizure case against Lalit Patil.
