Mumbai:
After being on the run for over 40 days, 52-year-old drug peddler Shashikala alias Baby Patankar was on Wednesday arrested by the Mumbai police in connection with a seizure of 110 kg of mephedrone drug in March.
This is the third arrest in the case. Earlier, the police had arrested police constable Dharmaraj Kalokhe, with whom she was allegedly in a relationship, and her son Satish.
"We arrested Patankar in Panvel from a Mumbai-bound bus in the morning. A local court remanded her in police custody till April 28," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Atulchandra Kulkarni.
The case was transferred from Marine Drive police station to the Mumbai crime branch because the crime was "sensitive and grave" in nature, police said.
"We treated this case as a challenge. After a hard and focused work by all of our units, the social service branch arrested Patankar this morning," added Joint Commissioner Kulkarni.
He said after the case was registered, Patankar fled to neighbouring Vashi. Later she returned to Mumbai and stayed with her son's friends for three days and contacted a few lawyers. She then left for Kudal in the Sindhudurg district. Police finally zeroed in on her as she was coming back to Mumbai yesterday.
Patankar's niece, a minor, who was accompanying her, was rescued by the police and would be produced before the child welfare committee.