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8 more suspects identified in Lalit Patil drug haul case
Eight more suspects who helped drug haul accused Bhushan Patil and Abhishekh Balkawade to set up a drug factory in Nashik have been identified, the city police told the Pune court on Monday
Pune: Eight more suspects who helped drug haul accused Bhushan Patil and Abhishekh Balkawade to set up a drug factory in Nashik have been identified, the city police told the Pune court on Monday.
Seeking extension of Patil and Balkawade’s police custody, investigators said that Samadhan Kambale, Shivaji Shinde, Dishan Singh, Rahul Pandit, Imran Sheikh, Harish Pant and Golu (identified only by first name) helped the duo set up the mephedrone manufacturing unit in Shinde village.
With Pandit in a Mumbai jail, the police have decided to approach the court seeking his custody for investigation.
Amol Zende, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said, “The suspects helped the duo in production, transportation and sale of MD drugs. We had demanded police custody for eight more days.”
On Monday, Patil and Balkawade were produced in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class AC Birajdar that remanded them to police custody till October 20.
Sunil Tambe, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) and investigation officer, said, “During the house search of Balkawade, 3 kg gold bricks, eight pen drives and some CCTV footage were seized. After analysis of pen drive data, more information came to light.”
On Monday, Lalit and Bhushan Patil’s mother was present at the court. She said, “We came to know that Lalit was dealing in drugs only from television news.”
Meanwhile, the Pune police and the Uttar Pradesh special task force (STF) arrested drug dealer Lalit’s brother Bhushan and his associate Balkawade from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh last Tuesday.
Lalit, an undertrial prisoner serving imprisonment at Yerawada Jail, was admitted to Sassoon General Hospital for treatment of tuberculosis and hernia. However, on October 2, Patil managed to flee from the hospital.
Patil was accused of indulging in illicit narcotics sale and was booked on September 30 following a raid by the anti-narcotics cell in which Patil’s aide, Subhash Janaki Mandal, 29, was arrested for possessing 1.71 kg and 53 milligrams of mephedrone estimated to be worth ₹2.14 crore.
Police said Balkawade alias German is Lalit’s close associate. The phone seized by Pune city police from Lalit had details of calls by the name of German. Police suspect Bhushan and German might have helped Lalit to escape from the Sassoon Hospital. However, police said after detailed interrogation more names will come forward who helped Lalit in his escape.
