Lalit Patil Escape Case: Pune Police Seek Nod To Prosecute Former Sassoon Hospital Dean Dr Sanjeev Thakur

Pune: Pune police have sought permission from the Maharashtra government to prosecute former Sassoon General Hospital dean Dr Sanjeev Thakur as part of a probe into the escape of alleged drug kingpin Lalit Patil from the facility last year, an official said on Friday.

Permission has been sought from the Principal Secretary of the Medical Education & Drug Department (MEDD), he added.

Patil, wanted in a multi-crore mephedrone seizure case, escaped from government-run Sassoon Hospital in Pune on October 2, 2023, when he was taken for an X-ray. He was arrested in Bengaluru on October 17.

Dr Thakur was the dean when Patil escaped from the hospital, the official said.

More than 10 persons, including Dr Pravin Devkate, medical officer with Sassoon Hospital and Dr Sanjay Kashinath Marsale, the CMO of Yerawada Central Jail, have been arrested in the case.