Pune: Close aide of Sassoon Hospital dean arrested in drug kingpin Lalit Patil’s escape case

The Pune City police have arrested Mahendra Shevte, an employee of Sassoon General Hospital, in connection with the case involving the escape of drug cartel kingpin Lalit Patil from the hospital premises on October 2. Shevte, a mid-50s helper at the state-run hospital, was apprehended around the intervening midnight of Monday and Tuesday.

According to a senior officer involved in the investigation, Shevte is suspected to have played a role in Patil's escape and is believed to have assisted him during his stay at the hospital. The ongoing interrogation of Shevte is anticipated to provide new insights into the involvement of hospital staff in the alleged crime.

“Probe has revealed that Shevte had a role to play in Patil’s escape and he is suspected to have helped him during his stay at the hospital. His interrogation is expected to shed new light on the role played by hospital staff in the alleged crime,” a senior officer who is part of the team probing Patil’s escape said quoted by Indian Express.

Mahendra Shevate, known for his close ties with Sassoon Hospital Dean Sanjeev Thakur, and friendly relations with prisoners, is revealed to have engaged in contacting inmates and their relatives. Through communication with inmates and their relatives, Shevate engaged with doctors to prolong prisoners' stays at Sassoon Hospital. It has been revealed that he extorted lakhs of rupees from inmates for this purpose.

The Pune City police are conducting a comprehensive probe into a large-scale mephedrone manufacturing and smuggling operation led by Patil, 34, and Arvindkumar Lohare, 39, the alleged chemistry mastermind behind the operation. The investigation originated from the seizure of mephedrone valued at Rs 2.14 crore by the anti-narcotics cell of the Pune City police on September 30, near Sassoon Hospital. Simultaneously, a separate inquiry is underway into Patil's escape on October 2.

Patil, initially admitted to the prisoners' ward at Sassoon General Hospital, escaped on the evening of October 2, a day before his scheduled hernia surgery. Mumbai police later apprehended him on October 17 from a village near Bengaluru. A police probe has uncovered that since his arrest in December 2020, Patil, previously held at Yerawada prison, managed to spend 16 months in the Sassoon hospital ward, citing various medical reasons. The arrest of Shevte adds a new dimension to the investigation.

In the Lalit Patil case, the police have filed charges against 10 officers and employees of the police force and have suspended two police personnel. However, no action has been taken against anyone at Sassoon Hospital yet. MLA Ravindra Dhangekar had urged for action against the then Dean of Sassoon Hospital, Dr Sanjeev Thakur. He had indicated the possibility of staging a protest in front of the police commissioner starting Wednesday if no action was initiated. Following this, the police have returned to action mode.