Lalit Patil’s escape: Sasoon hospital’s dean sacked, treating doctor suspended

A detailed analysis of an investigation report, which a state-appointed committee submitted one week ago, had found Thakur, Devkate, and others prima facie responsible, a report sent by the department to the government said. HT had seen the report

More than a month after drug dealer Lalit Patil escaped from Sasson General Hospital in Pune, the medical education department removed the dean, Dr Sanjeev Thakur, and suspended Dr Praveen Devkate who was treating Patil.

Dr Sanjeev Thakur, dean of Sasson General Hospital in Pune

A detailed analysis of an investigation report, which a state-appointed committee submitted one week ago, had found Thakur, Devkate, and others prima facie responsible, a report sent by the department to the government said. HT had seen the report.

The department has also recommended a departmental enquiry against both, people aware of the development said.

Rajiv Nivatkar, commissioner of medical education, who perused the report, has also found negligence on the part of the hospital’s prisoners’ committee and said it should have informed the administration about Patil’s health condition. The commissioner has found instances of prisoners overstaying in the hospital, which he said cast doubt on the committee’s integrity.

Patil, an undertrial prisoner serving imprisonment at Yerawada Jail, was admitted to ward 16 at Sassoon for treatment of tuberculosis and hernia. On October 2, he managed to flee from the hospital and according to police, he then went to Nashik by a state transport bus.

Two days later, the state set up a four-member committee headed by Dr Dilip Mhaisekar, director, medical education and research, to probe the incident.

The committee in its report submitted to the medical education department expressed reservations about admission of jail inmates to ward 16 where some high-profile inmates had allegedly received VIP treatment by bribing officials.

The panel has given standing instructions to the hospital to ensure that no privacy is granted to inmates admitted and instead they should be subject to electronic and physical surveillance so as to prevent a repeat of the incident.

A senior IAS officer said now it’s time to expose such malpractices at state-run J J Hospital.