Pune: Lalit Patil’s Brother Bhushan, His Associate Remanded To Police Custody Till October 16

The Pune police arrested Lalit Patil's brother Bhushan Patil and his associate Abhishek Balkawade from the Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh in the mephedrone seizure case on Tuesday. The court ordered that Bhushan Patil and Abhishek Balakwade be held in police custody until October 16.

On Wednesday, Bhushan was arrested in a joint operation by the Pune Crime Branch of the Maharashtra Police and Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), in connection with the earlier drug seizure in Nashik.

Who is Bhushan Patil?

Bhushan's name first came into the news when Mumbai police also conducted a raid on a manufacturing facility in a Nashik's Shinde village allegedly operated by Bhushan. In the process, they seized approximately 133 kg of MDMA valued at 300 crore rupees.

The police are facing challenges in their investigation due to tampering with mobile data seized from Bhushan and Abhishek. Cyber experts are being consulted to recover the altered data. It is suspected that the accused may have acquired substantial assets through drug trafficking, and efforts are underway to trace the source of the raw materials used in Mephedrone production and seize the vehicles involved in the illegal activity.

The prosecution had requested 14 days of police custody for the accused to conduct a thorough investigation. The court, presided over by First Class Magistrate AC Birajdar, granted the request, ordering Bhushan and Abhishek to be held in police custody until October 16.