Kasba Peth MLA Ravindra Dhangekar staged a sit-in protest in front of the Commissioner of Police (CP) office on Wednesday, citing the sluggish progress in the Lalit Patil drugs case and the perceived inaction against Sassoon General Hospital's dean, Sanjeev Thakur.
Addressing the media, the Congress leader said he and his party workers met with Pune Police Commissioner Reetesh Kumar and discussed the lack of arrests in the drugs case. "We emphasised the imperative need for swift arrests of the accused individuals in the drugs case. The Pune Police Commissioner assured us of their ongoing investigation and pledged that those involved will be apprehended," he said.
Voicing his expectations of Thakur's imminent arrest, Dhangekar called for a thorough investigation into the case, urging the government to take it more seriously and pressing for a comprehensive inquiry by the central investigation agency.
Dhangekar further criticised Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis for purportedly neglecting the case. Additionally, he alleged Patil's blatant involvement in the drug business, claiming he provided substantial sums to police, government officials, and doctors.
Recently, a special court in Pune remanded Patil back to Yerawada Central Jail. Alongside him, 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, more than two weeks after his escape from Sassoon Hospital during a scheduled X-ray visit. Additionally, a trustee of an educational institute in the city was apprehended for facilitating Patil's hospital escape.
