Pune: 9 Cops Suspended After Drug Case Accused Escapes from Sassoon Hospital

Nine police personnel in Pune have been suspended following the escape of a notorious drug mafia member from Sassoon Hospital. This suspension comes as a response to alleged irresponsibility and misconduct in handling this high-profile criminal case.

Five police personnel were suspended for lapses in vigilance, while four others were suspended because the accused managed to use a mobile phone while in the hospital ward. The suspended officers include PSI Janardhan Kale, Police Constable Vishal Thople, Swapneel Shinde, Digambar Chandanshiv, PSI Mohini Dongre, Constable Adesh Shivankar, Police Naik Natharam Kale, Constable Pirappa Bansode, and Constable Amit Jadhav.

Lalit Patil, a key figure in the city's drug trade, was receiving treatment at Sassoon Hospital. During a visit to Ward No. 16 for an X-ray, he seized the opportunity to escape through a rear exit gate and made his way to Pune station.

He was using mobile phone

Patil had been in police custody due to his alleged involvement in the city's drug racket, sparking suspicions of a larger drug operation in Pune. Drugs worth Rs 2 crore were discovered near the hospital's entrance on September 30 while Patil was being treated there, further raising concerns about his involvement in a significant drug network.

Patil, who had been in jail for about a year, was found with a mobile phone while in the hospital. He was allegedly involved in drug peddling even during his treatment and was named in a new case just three days prior. Police have formed 10 teams to apprehend him.

Sept 30 drug bust

On September 30, Subhash Mandal was apprehended by Pune police's Anti-Narcotics Cell outside Sassoon Hospital with two kilograms of mephedrone worth Rs 2 crore. Mandal claimed he obtained the drugs from Patil through Rauf Shaikh, an employee at the hospital's canteen. Mandal, Shaikh, and Patil were subsequently booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and relevant Indian Penal Code provisions in a case registered at Bundgarden police station.