Suspended doctor among 3 arrested with 56 Grams of Mephedrone

Pune: An MBBS doctor who worked at a renowned hospital in the city until a few months ago has been arrested for the second time in a drug smuggling case. He was caught red-handed with 56 grams of Mephedrone worth Rs 15 lakh along with his two associates.

The Crime Branch’s Anti-Narcotics Cell arrested the doctor and two others on July 16 near Hotel Nimantran in Bibwewadi, where they were allegedly waiting to sell the drug. Besides the drug, a car and mobile phones were also seized.

The accused have been identified as 27-year-old Mohammad, 28-year-old Samuel Balasaheb Pratap, and 27-year-old Aniket Vitthal Kudle.

The incident took place when the anti-narcotics squad received information that three people had come in a car and were standing near the Nimantran Hotel in Bibwewadi to smuggle drugs.

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Acting on the information, police raided the car and found a total of 56 grams of MD valued at Rs 15 lakh, including MD worth Rs 5 lakh seized from the doctor, Rs 6.38 lakh from Samuel Pratap, and Rs 3.25 lakh from Kudle.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of Add CP (Crime) Pankaj Deshmuk, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Nikhil Pingle, Assistant Commissioner Rajendra Mulik, and led by Senior Inspector Prashant Annachhatre. Assistant Inspector Anil Suravase, Sub-Inspector Digambar Kokate, and Sandeep Shirke were also part of the action team.

According to the police, the doctor, originally from Jammu and currently living in Undri, was previously arrested in a similar drug case two years ago. He was practising medicine in a renowned hospital in the central part of the city. After that, he was suspended from his job, but he continued operating in the illegal drug.

Speaking to Free Press Journal, a police officer said, "Two years back, he was arrested in a case of the supply of illegal narcotics. After that, he was suspended from the post of doctor. Still, he did not stop smuggling. Now, for the second time, he has been caught in the police net again in a drug smuggling case. Along with Mohammed Sheikh, Kudle was also arrested in the Bundgarden area in a drug smuggling case. It has been reported that these people are providing MD to people they know."

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