Who shielded drug kingpin Patil when he was arrested during Thackeray govt, asks Fadnavis

“Immediately after his arrest, he was admitted to Sassoon Hospital in Pune. He was under police custody for 14 days. After the completion of the PCR, the police should have demanded an extension of the custody as he was arrested in a very serious allegation or pointed at the fake ground under which he was arrested,” he questioned.

Mumbai: As the ruling parties and the Opposition are locked in a face-off over the arrest of suspected Pune-based drug mafia Lalit Patil, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the home minister of the state has attacked former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and questioned if Patil was shielded by the then chief minister when he was arrested in December 2020.

Mumbai, India – Oct 20, 2023: Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis addressing the media at Sahyadri Guest House, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, Oct 20, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Fadnavis said Patil was arrested on December 11, 2020, but police did not do a proper interrogation. “Immediately after his arrest, he was admitted to Sassoon Hospital in Pune. He was under police custody for 14 days. After the completion of the PCR, the police should have demanded an extension of the custody as he was arrested in a very serious allegation or pointed at the fake ground under which he was arrested. They should have told the court that they did not get an opportunity to interrogate him. In the absence of any such demand by the police, Lalit was granted a magisterial custody remand. How do you expect the case to stand in the court if the interrogation has not been done,” he questioned.

Fadnavis said that Patil was Nashik city chief of the undivided Shiv Sena led by Thackeray and questioned if the then chief minister Thackeray or the home minister (Anil Deshmukh) was shielding him. “Who would be responsible if the proper interrogation has not happened? Was it the chief minister or the home minister under whose pressure the interrogation was stalled? There are too many things related to this case and we would bring them forward at the appropriate time,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) has been attacking ruling parties and its ministers over the busted manufacturing units of drugs in Nashik. Sena leader Sushama Andhare had raised questions over the involvement of two state ministers from the Shinde faction of Sena in the case.

Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut, while speaking in Nashik has alleged that there would be more links exposed in drug connections if they were threatened. “The home minister should look into the Nashik and Malegoan connection in drug peddling. The drug menace in Nashik has Gujarat links and the drugs found in Gujarat are connected to Pakistan and Afghanistan. It also needs to be investigated which ministers and their sons have been involved in the case. According to my police sources, a few MLAs from Nashik were getting regular ‘hafta’ of ₹10 to ₹15 lakh from these drug mafias,” he said.

Meanwhile, NCP (Pawar faction) leader Anil Deshmukh who was home minister in the Thackeray-led government when Patil was arrested in 2020, said, “Fadnavis is trying to divert the attention. He should first answer why Patil was in hospital for nine months.”