From being an employee of a wine manufacturing unit in Nashik, Lalit Patil (37) has come a long way to become an alleged member of the narcotics mafia.
Patil was a resident of Mulru in Nashik and has passed the 12th standard examination. He was leading a quiet life with his parents, brother, wife and two children. After his wife died he remarried, but she too died, apparently in a road accident.
Turning point in Patil's life
It was then that he came into contact with a woman. This was the turning point in his life. This woman used to help those accused of narcotics offences get bail. The monies involved were big and this was when Patil realised that big amounts can be made through the drug business.
One of the accused with whom he came in contact was Tushar Kale of Chhota Rajan gang, who was lodged in Kalamba Central Jail, Kolhapur. Kale and two other accused, Shelke and a Nigerian who was simply known as Zubi, met inside the jail. After their bail, Zubi gaveKale and Shelke the idea of making big money by manufacturing mephedrone, aka MD. Zubi reportedly promised to buy the entire production of the drug. He introduced his former jail mates to one Bhanudas More, an accused in a drugs case who was lodged in a Thane jail, who had the know-how to manufacture MD.
Thereafter, whenever More came to court, Kale visited him as a relative or friend and gathered information about making MD drugs. Zubi had told Kale that “I myself will buy whatever MD you make”. Information received from More, Kale, with the help of one Rakesh Khanwadekar bought a farmhouse at Karjat and processed MD drugs there.
However, as the MD made at the farmhouse in Karjat was not of good quality, Kale and Khanwadekar identified another accused, Parshuram Jogal, a drug dealer residing in Thane city, and took training at Mahad. When the police cracked down on these persons, Patil secured bail for them and subsequently started dealing in narcotics himself, according to police sources. He was helped in the business by his female friend.
Patil’s drug business grew by leaps and bounds not only within India, but also abroad. However, his nemesis caught up with him and he was arrested. He managed to get admitted in Pune’s Sassoon Hospital, from where he escaped.
Mephedrone
Mephedrone, known by street names like Meow Meow, White Magic, M-Cat, and Drone, is a synthetically manufactured stimulant belonging to the amphetamine and cathinone category.
Despite being in jail for about a year, Patil was found to have access to a mobile phone while in the hospital. He allegedly continued to peddle drugs even while undergoing treatment. Notably, he was named in a new case just three days before his dramatic escape.
September 30 drug bust near hospital
Patil was lodged in the Yerwada jail and had been undergoing treatment at Sassoon General Hospital in Pune for the last three months. His escape occurred on Monday evening while he was being taken for an X-ray examination.
The drug bust investigation intensified on September 30 when Pune police's Anti-Narcotics Cell apprehended one Subhash Mandal outside the Sassoon hospital. Mandal was found in possession of two kilograms of mephedrone worth Rs 2 crore. During questioning, Mandal disclosed that he had obtained the drugs from Patil through Rauf Shaikh, an employee at the hospital's canteen. Subsequently, Mandal, Shaikh, and Patil were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, along with relevant Indian Penal Code provisions, in a case registered at the Bundgarden police station.
The police had mobilized ten teams to track down and apprehend him.
2020 Chakan Drug Bust
Patil's initial arrest was made under the NDPS Act in connection with a significant drug seizure case in 2020, which was registered at the Chakan police station. This case came to light when Pimpri Chinchwad police arrested a total of 22 individuals following the seizure of 20 kilograms of mephedrone valued at Rs 20 crore in Chakan in October 2020. Subsequent investigations exposed a major narcotics production and distribution ring, revealing that mephedrone worth over Rs 130 crore had been manufactured at a biotech company in Ranjangaon.
Contested Nashik civic polls
As per the report by the Indian Express, the police also alleged that Patil's involvement went beyond drug procurement; he was accused of receiving substantial sums of money from several arrested individuals in the Chakan case. These funds were purportedly used to arrange lawyers for them and to attempt to strike deals with officials. Patil had also previously contested elections in the Nashik civic polls.
