Two suspects wanted in a narcotics case were apprehended by the Pune police in a joint operation with the Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh from near Nepal border in the northern state on Tuesday, an official said. According to the police, one of the suspects is Bhushan Patel, brother of Lalit Patil, a Yerawada Jail inmate who last week fled from government-run Sassoon General Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment.

The second suspect who was nabbed was identified by the police as Abhishek Balkawade. On September 30, the city police had arrested a man from outside Sassoon General Hospital with mephedrone worth Rs 2 crore. A probe led to the arrest of a hospital canteen staffer who revealed the contraband was supplied by Lalit Patil, a Yerwada Jail inmate admitted in the hospital at the time.