Journalism of Courage
Lalit Anil Patil, 34, an accused in a drug trafficking case who was first lodged in Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail in October 2020 and later admitted to Sassoon General Hospital for ‘treatment’, allegedly ran a drug cartel from his hospital ward with the help of an aide and a canteen staffer.
Acting on a tip-off to policeman Chetan Gaikwad, a team of the anti-narcotics cell of the Pune city police Saturday laid a trap near Sassoon hospital and arrested the aide. The latter was in possession of 1.71 kg and 53 milligrams of mephedrone worth Rs 2.14 crore. The police have also seized two iPhones while searching Patil’s hospital ward.
The police have identified the suspected aide as Subhash Janaki Mandal, 29, a resident of Dehu Road and a native of Jharkhand. The probe revealed that accused Lalit Patil, a resident of Nashik, currently admitted to ward number 16 at the Sassoon Hospital for treatment, supplied the contraband to Mandal through Rauf Rahim Shaikh, 19, who works as a waiter at the hospital canteen.
An FIR has been lodged against Patil, Mandal, and Rauf Shaikh at the Bundgarden police station under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
As stated in the FIR, the police seized the contraband substance and two Apple company cell phones worth Rs 1.1 lakh each from Patil. But the latter refused to give passwords of the two cell phones to the police “with the purpose of destroying evidence”.
When asked about the cell phones seized from the accused, Pune City Police Commissioner Retesh Kumaarr said, “An inquiry will be conducted into this security lapse. Appropriate action will be initiated based on the outcome of the inquiry.”
Officials said that the security of the ward for prison inmates at the Sassoon Hospital comes under the purview of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) of the Pune city police.
Police inspector Sunil Thopte of the anti-narcotics cell said, “Lalit Patil was arrested under the NDPS Act in a drug seizure case in 2020, registered at the Chakan police station. A probe is on to find out how and from where Patil procured the banned mephedrone while undergoing treatment at the Sassoon hospital.
“Mandal and Rauf have been arrested for further investigation. Mandal is also a criminal on the police record. Mandal was arrested in the past in a dacoity case at Rajgad police station (Pune rural police) under sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). He was released from jail in January this year. Rauf is a resident of Tadiwala Road, with no previous record.”
Lalit Patil is among the 22 people who were arrested by the Pimpri Chinchwad police, following the seizure of 20 kilogram of mephedrone worth Rs 20 crore from Chakan in October 2020.
The subsequent probe had unearthed a major narcotic production and distribution ring and revealed that mephedrone worth over Rs 130 crore was manufactured at a biotech company in Ranjangaon.
The police alleged that Lalit Patil not only procured drugs from the racketeers in the past but also received huge sums of money from some of the arrested accused in the Chakan case to arrange lawyers for them and to try and strike deals with officials.
Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray said, “Probe into the Chakan case had revealed that Lalit Patil is deeply involved in a drug racket. The matter is pending before the court for framing of charges against the accused. Since his arrest, Patil has spent about 16 months in hospital claiming to be suffering from one or other medical problems. This is highly suspicious. So, we had filed an application before the Khed court that jail authorities should be summoned about Patil’s health and he should be kept in prison as he may threaten the witnesses… Now he is found to have procured a huge amount of mephedrone while claiming to be under treatment. It is clear that he is running a drug cartel from Sassoon Hospital. “
A senior Pune police official said, “The decision of admission and stay of a prison inmate at the hospital ward is a call taken by a body comprising hospital doctors and prison officials. The said suspect Patil being lodged at the hospital for several months is something that needs to be investigated.”
Police sources said Patil contested the Nashik civic polls in the past. He has filed a plea seeking bail before the Bombay High Court. “We are opposing his bail. The High Court will hear the matter on October 10,” said advocate Hiray.
Mephedrone consumption on rise in Pune
Mephedrone, which has various street names such as Meow Meow, White Magic, M-Cat, and Drone, is a synthetically manufactured stimulant of the amphetamine and cathinone category.
As per data provided by the Pune city police’s anti-narcotics cell, an increasing number of seizures of mephedrone has been reported in the past three years. In 2021, the Pune police had seized 465 gm mephedrone worth over Rs 43 lakh in 21 cases and had arrested 25 suspects. In 2022, the police seized 1.615 kg mephedrone worth Rs 2.46 crore in 34 cases and arrested 53 suspects.
This year till August, as much as 2.308 kg mephedrone worth Rs 4.61 crore has been seized in 29 cases and 41 suspects have been arrested. Of the total 84 cases of seizures of Mephedrone since 2021, in 24 cases the drug seized was in commercial quantity, which is more than 50 gram.
The police said the price of one gram of mephedrone in the illegal market also rose from over Rs 9,000 in 2021 to Rs 15,000 in 2022, and close to Rs 20,000 in the present year, indicating an increase in demand for synthetic stimulants.
