Drug kingpin's escape from Pune hospital: Cops seek nod to prosecute former dean

Pune police have sought permission from the Maharashtra government to prosecute former Sassoon General Hospital dean Dr Sanjeev Thakur as part of a probe into the escape of alleged drug kingpin Lalit Patil from the facility last year, an official said on Friday.

Permission has been sought from the Principal Secretary of the Medical Education & Drug Department (MEDD), he added.

Patil, wanted in a multi-crore mephedrone seizure case, escaped from government-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune on October 2, 2023 when he was taken for an X-ray. He was arrested in Bengaluru on October 17.

Dr Thakur was the dean when Patil escaped from the hospital, the official said.

More than 10 persons, including Dr. Pravin Devkate, medical officer with Sassoon General Hospital and Dr. Sanjay Kashinath Marsale, the CMO of Yerawada Central Jail, have been arrested in the case.