Lalit Patil, a suspect in a drug case who had escaped from a hospital in Pune, was captured near Bengaluru by the Mumbai Police. He fled on the evening of October 2.
On the evening of October 2, Lalit Patil successfully escaped from the hospital facility. It was revealed that he continued running his drug operation from within the hospital ward, using a mobile phone. Subhash Mandal, who had been arrested by Pune Police's Anti Narcotics Cell outside Sassoon Hospital on September 30 with 2 kilograms of mephedrone, disclosed that he had acquired the drugs from Patil through a hospital canteen worker named Rauf Shaikh.
In response to this revelation, Mandal, Shaikh, and Patil faced charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Indian Penal Code provisions, as detailed in a case registered at Bundgarden Police Station.
The shocking escape of Patil was facilitated by a driver named Datta Doke, who has since been arrested.
Repercussions of Patil's escape
The repercussions of Patil's escape were substantial. Nine police personnel faced suspension, with five of them held accountable for lapses in their vigilance. An additional four officers were suspended because Patil was found using a mobile phone while in the hospital ward. Responding to this incident, the Maharashtra government established a four-member committee to investigate the circumstances of Patil's escape. The committee, led by Dr Dilip Mhaisekar, the director of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, was tasked with a comprehensive inquiry into the matter.
This incident also stirred political controversy in Maharashtra, with the opposition alleging that Maharashtra Minister Dada Bhuse played a role in aiding Patil's escape.
Meanwhile, a Mumbai Police team nabbed Lalit Patil from a hotel between Bengaluru and Chennai.
Who is Lalit Patil?
Lalit Patil's background revealed that he was a commerce graduate who completed his schooling at a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Nashik. He had also participated in local civic elections and had a previous record, having been booked in a case of dacoity at Niphad police station in 2012. While primarily known for his alleged role in handling finances between individuals involved in narcotics cases and their legal representatives, the mephedrone case has brought to light his alleged direct involvement in the drug trade, underscoring a more substantial role in the narcotics industry.
Lalit Patil, a wanted figure in a major mephedrone seizure case, was apprehended by the Mumbai Police. The police seized 151 kg of mephedrone valued at Rs 300 crore during a two-month operation that involved arrests in different cities and a drug manufacturing unit raid in Nashik. Lalit Patil was the 15th person arrested in this case.
