Lalit Patil, the drug racketeer who was remanded to police custody until November 7 by a Pune court on Tuesday, has disclosed the reason behind his escape from Sassoon General Hospital on October 2. According to police sources, Patil, the kingpin of the mephedrone cartel, was driven by the fear of spending the rest of his life in jail.
"The court did not grant Patil bail in the case of drug possession in Chakan for three years. He was scared after the second case was registered against him on September 30. Patil has confessed in the police investigation that he escaped from Sassoon Hospital because he was afraid that he would have to stay in jail for the rest of his life," police sources said.
Pune police received custody of Patil and two others (Shivaji Shinde and Rahul Pandit alias Rohitkumar Chowdhary) from a Mumbai court. The trio was produced in a Pune court, which sent them to police custody.
The prosecution sought their remand for 14 days, stating that a comprehensive investigation is required in the case due to its magnitude.
The defense counsel representing Patil objected to the prosecution's 14-day custody demand, claiming that Patil faced threats from the police authorities and had been assaulted by the police during his stay at Sassoon Hospital.
After considering the arguments, the court remanded Patil and the two others in police custody.
Lalit Patil, the main accused in a ₹300 crore mephedrone seizure case, was arrested in Bengaluru on October 17, over two weeks after his escape from Sassoon Hospital.
A trustee of an education institute in Pune was also arrested for facilitating his escape from the hospital.
