Drug kingpin Lalit Patil brought to Pune amid high security

A Mumbai court directed the officials of Arthur Road prison to transfer the custody of drug kingpin Lalit Patil and his associates, Shivaji Shinde and Rohitkumar Chaudhary, to the Pune police in connection with a significant drug haul worth Rs 2.14 crore at Sassoon General Hospital's gate on October 1.

A Pune police team, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amol Zende, left for Mumbai and successfully secured custody of Patil and the two others from Arthur Road prison, bringing them back to Pune amidst tight security.

Lalit Patil, who had been undergoing medical treatment at Sassoon General Hospital after escaping custody, is expected to be produced in court on Wednesday. He had previously been arrested in October 2020 in a case involving a Rs 20 crore drug seizure in Chakan.

Multiple Legal Issues Surrounding Patil

Patil had become a wanted man not only for his involvement in the October 1 drug seizure but also for his escape from custody. His brother Bhushan and close associate Abhishek Balkawade were arrested by local police in Uttar Pradesh and brought to Pune. Furthermore, on October 17, the Mumbai Sakinaka police re-arrested Patil, who was located 100km from Bengaluru, thereby preventing another escape. Patil was also wanted in a case registered with Mumbai's Sakinaka police in August this year.

Ongoing Investigations and Arrests

The Pune city crime branch, tasked with probing both the drug-related and escape cases, has arrested numerous associates of Patil. This includes individuals such as Vinay Aranha, a partner at the Rosary Education Group in the city, and two women from Nashik who had assisted him.