Pune: Two cops dismissed for negligence in Lalit Patil’s escape from Sassoon Hospital

Two policemen, Police Naik Nathuram Kale and Constable Amit Jadhav, faced dismissal from service on Monday night, just three days after their arrest on charges of negligence. This negligence was linked to the escape of drug kingpin Lalit Patil from the prisoner’s ward at Sassoon General Hospital on October 2.

“Additional commissioner of police (Administration) Arvind Chawaria issued the dismissal order of police naik Nathuram Kale and constable Amit Jadhav from service as per Article 311 of the Constitution,” Pune police commissioner Retesh Kumaarr told TOI.

DCP (Headquarters) Rohidas Pawar highlighted that the decision to dismiss the policemen was based on the findings of Inspector Nandakumar Bidwai from the crime branch (Unit II), the designated investigating officer in the case. The investigation concluded that Kale and Jadhav were unequivocally guilty of negligence. The dismissal order swiftly followed a magisterial court’s decision to schedule the bail applications of the implicated policemen for a hearing on the subsequent Tuesday. Kale and Jadhav were part of a group of 10 policemen, including a sub-inspector and an assistant inspector, who were initially placed under suspension pending a departmental inquiry following Patil’s audacious escape from the hospital.