Pune: Kasba Peth MLA Ravindra Dhangekar To Stage Protest Over Slow Progress In Lalit Patil Drugs Case

Kasba Peth MLA Ravindra Dhangekar on Tuesday announced plans to lead a protest in front of the Commissioner of Police (CP) office due to the sluggish progress in the Lalit Patil drugs case and the perceived inaction against Sassoon General Hospital's dean Sanjeev Thakur.

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Dhangekar expressed his concerns. He said, "The investigation into the involvement of Sassoon Hospital staff and senior officials in the case is moving at a very slow pace. In response, I, along with party workers, will stage a demonstration in front of the CP office."

This comes a day after the arrest of Sassoon Hospital's ward boy, Mahendra Shevate, for allegedly aiding prisoner patients. Preliminary investigations suggest his involvement in the drugs racket, including alleged payments to hospital staff and medical officers.

Last week, a special court in Pune remanded drug trafficker Lalit Patil to Yerawada Central Jail, again. Jishan Sheikh, Shivaji Shinde, and Rahul Pandit were also remanded to judicial custody. Earlier, the police had invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Patil and his associates.

Patil, the primary accused in a ₹300 crore mephedrone seizure case, was arrested in Bengaluru on October 17, over two weeks after his escape from the Sassoon Hospital during a visit for X-ray imaging. A trustee of an educational institute in the city was arrested for facilitating his hospital escape.