Maharashtra: All About 'Mephedrone Man' Lalit Patil, Who Was Running Drug Network from Pune Hospital

Lalit Patil, the alleged kingpin behind a multicrore mephedrone racket first busted in Pune’s twin city Pimpri-Chinchwad in 2020, left police in Maharashtra red-faced when he managed to escape their custody from a government-run hospital on October 2.

It was later found that Lalit, who was an inmate of Pune’s Yerwada Central Jail, was allegedly running a drug network from the Sassoon General Hospital where he was a patient. The main accused in the drug case was once again nabbed by a Mumbai police team from a hotel between Bengaluru and Chennai late on Tuesday (October 17).

After being produced before a magistrate in suburban Andheri, which remanded him in police custody till October 23, Lalit told Marathi news channel ABP Majha that he had not run away from the hospital. “I was made to run… I will tell who all were involved,” he said while being escorted out by police following a medical check-up.

Who is Lalit Patil?

The 37-year-old main accused in the multicrore mephedrone seizure case from 2020 belongs to Nashik. He and his brother, Bhushan Patil, were the prime movers in the drug racket. Police first arrested Lalit in Pimpri-Chinchwad in December 2020, following which he was lodged in Pune’s Yerwada prison. In June this year, he was admitted to the Sassoon hospital and was undergoing treatment for hernia and tuberculosis.

How did he escape police custody?

According to Pune Police, Lalit escaped from the Sassoon hospital on October 2 when he was taken for X-ray imaging. Nine police personnel were subsequently suspended for lapses in duty. The Maharashtra government also set up a four-member committee to conduct an inquiry into his escape.

How did police find out about the hospital network?

On September 30, Pune Police arrested a man from outside the Sassoon hospital and seized mephedrone worth Rs 2 crore from him. A probe led to the arrest of a hospital canteen employee, who claimed that the drugs were supplied by Lalit, who was a patient there. But, he managed to escape three days later.

On October 10, police arrested Lalit’s brother Bhushan and associate Abhishek Balkawade from the Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh in connection with the mephedrone seizure outside the Sassoon hospital. “Lalit Patil is one of the main accused in the case and his brother Bhushan Patil is also an accused in this case,” a top Mumbai official said, adding that police had obtained a warrant against Bhushan and will get his custody from Pune Police.

How did police nab Lalit Patil again?

Police said after escaping from the hospital, Lalit first went to Chalisgaon in north Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district and then reached Surat in Gujarat via Dhule. After visiting a relative in Gujarat, he turned around and headed to Solapur in south Maharashtra and then continued on to Bijapur and Bengaluru.

He was being chased based on human intelligence and technical data, police said. Lalit used rented cars and kept changing them and, as he was not carrying a mobile phone, police could not track him from mobile data. More than 70 persons were questioned to zero in on Lalit’s location, an official said.

What is the case all about?

The drug cartel was active since 2020, and the first case was registered against Lalit and his brother in that year. More details about the brothers’ involvement came to light when Mumbai Police on October 6 claimed a mephedrone bust by seizing 151 kg of the contraband worth Rs 300 crore. It also arrested a number of persons from different cities in an operation lasting two months, including a raid at a drug manufacturing unit in Nashik.

What did Fadnavis say?

Lalit’s arrest has prompted a political slugfest in Maharashtra with the opposition alleging that two ministers helped him escape from the hospital. But, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said his arrest will soon be followed by a major revelation over his drug nexus in Maharashtra. Those who are currently loosely talking about the state’s affairs will be shut completely, he said.

Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister, said no one will be spared. “The inquiry into this matter is ongoing. All those who made a mistake will face action,” he added.

(With PTI inputs)