More arrests in Lalit Patil drug case after Mumbai police nab key aide from Uttarakhand

Mumbai police nab Harish Pant, an associate of drug kingpin Lalit Patil, from Uttarakhand. Patil and Pant remanded in police custody till Oct 30. Pune police suspends Assistant Police Inspector Savita Bhagwat for security lapses. Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar accuses Dr. Sanjeev Thakur of providing "five-star treatment" to Patil. Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve demands probe into Patil's drug racket in hospital. Pune court extends police custody of Patil aide Rehan Ansari till Oct 30.

The case pertaining to drug kingpin Lalit Patil, which has created a political furore in Maharashtra, saw more arrests and suspensions with the Mumbai police finally nabbing Harish Pant, said to be a close associate of Patil and a vital member of the drug racket, from Uttarakhand.

According to the police, Pant was finally caught on Thursday, being the 18th accused to be arrested in the ₹300 crore drug-bust case at a factory in Nashik.

On Friday, the Saki Naka police had produced Lalit Patil and Pant before a court in Andheri where they were remanded in police custody till October 30.

Pant is reportedly known by his alias ‘Doctor’ owing to his expertise in drug manufacturing, said authorities.

The Saki Naka police in Mumbai said it was Pant who had helped Patil and his brother, Bhushan (both in police custody at present) to set up the machinery at different places in Nashik, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune to manufacture drugs.

Earlier this week, the police arrested had arrested one Amir Shaikh, said to be the chief distributor of the drugs in the MMR region.

Patil had escaped on October 2 from Pune’s Sassoon General Hospital where he was reportedly undergoing treatment for tuberculosis.