The caretaker who allegedly dropped the survivor at her home the day after the incident has also gone missing. Pawar and Patil have been absconding since the rape allegations surfaced

Published on: Sep 22, 2026, 07:54:20 IST

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THANE: Four days after former BJP MLA Narendra Pawar and dismissed police officer Shailesh Patil were accused of gang-raping a 22-year-old married woman at Patil’s farmhouse in Padgha, the CCTV cameras and Digital Video Recorder (DVR) installed at the property have gone missing. The farmhouse is located in a secluded area along National Highway 3 between Bhiwandi and Kalyan.

The caretaker who allegedly dropped the survivor at her home the day after the incident has also gone missing. Pawar and Patil have been absconding since the rape allegations surfaced.

Thane Rural Police have formed three teams and launched a manhunt to trace them. The teams have also visited Mumbai Airport and contacted immigration authorities to ascertain whether the accused have fled the country.

On September 13, Pawar picked up the woman, who had sought his help to resolve a marital dispute, in a car and took her to the farmhouse in Padgha, where she alleged that both men raped her. She also alleged that Patil threatened her with a revolver. Later, Congress leader Kanchan Kulkarni, group leader of the party in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), helped her file an FIR.

Rahul Zalte, deputy superintendent of police (DySP), Thane Rural, said the accused or their associates appeared to have removed the CCTV footage and DVR after the woman approached the police. “Since the victim approached the police and registered the case two days after the incident, the accused or their associates managed to remove the CCTV footage and the DVR from the spot,” Zalte told . He added, “We have formed multiple teams to trace the absconding accused. Our teams have visited Mumbai Airport and immigration departments to verify whether they have fled the country.”

The investigation has also brought to the fore the criminal histories and past controversies surrounding Pawar and Patil. On Friday, an associate of Patil, identified as Yogesh Harad, allegedly contacted a developer who had previously filed multiple cases against the dismissed police officer for extortion and criminal intimidation, and demanded that he withdraw the complaints or face severe consequences.

The caller allegedly threatened developer Rohit Dixit over a WhatsApp call. Dixit subsequently lodged a Non-Cognisable (NC) report against Harad at Mahatma Phule Police Station in Kalyan under Sections 351 (criminal intimidation) and 352 (provoking a breach of peace or another offence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Speaking to , Dixit said, “Shailesh Patil has been threatening me for several years. I have filed multiple police complaints against him, but no action was taken. On Friday, his associate called me again to force a withdrawal.”

Dixit further alleged that Patil had been involved in several criminal activities and said he had previously been booked in connection with the Igatpuri Rainy Forest Call Centre racket, which involved several senior police officers. He also alleged that Patil had links to the Abu Salem and Subhash Thakur gangs.

“Patil has a long history of criminal activities. He was dismissed from the police force in the year 2020,” Dixit said. Patil, a former police constable, had also been accused by his mother, Sulochana Patil, of threatening her at gunpoint in 2018 in an alleged attempt to forcibly acquire 28 gunthas of land in Bapgaon, Padgha.

According to her complaint, Patil allegedly threatened her with dire consequences if she reported the matter. Sulochana lodged a complaint against him at Mahatma Phule Police Station in Kalyan for extortion, threat and criminal intimidation.

Following court proceedings, the court directed the police to confiscate Patil’s firearm. After allegedly failing to get redressal from the local police, Sulochana wrote to the Prime Minister, chief minister and Chief Justice of India in February 2026. In her representation, she alleged that Patil possessed an illegal firearm, was involved in organised crime and posed a grave threat to public safety. She also claimed that her husband had died due to extreme stress caused by Patil’s alleged illicit activities.

Patil’s criminal links raised in Assembly

Patil’s alleged criminal background was also raised in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 2025, when Shiv Sena MLA Anil Parab raised the matter during a Calling Attention motion and demanded strict action from the chief minister.

In his address to the House, Parab questioned how a police constable could allegedly function as an angadia for GNP, a real estate firm run by Girish Pawar, handling cash transactions worth crores of rupees.

Parab further alleged that Patil and his wife, Swapnali Patil, had accumulated vast undisclosed properties. He also reiterated allegations of Patil’s involvement in managing cash flows for the Igatpuri Rainy Forest Call Centre racket alongside senior IPS officers.

Patil’s criminal record also includes a 2015 case registered at Mahatma Phule Police Station for allegedly sexually exploiting a South African national at a lodge in Kalyan. Earlier, in 2010, he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged involvement in an Income Tax refund scam.

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