Nashik: The lumpy skin disease has so far claimed the lives of 989 cattle across the Nashik division — comprising Ahmednagar, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon and Nandrubar districts.The infection was first reported in the month of July and from then the number of cases have always been on the rise. According to an official from the Nashik regions animal husbandry department, the infection has spread to 53 out of 54 talukas.The number of talukas where cattle have been infected by the lumpy skin has gone up from 33 on August 24 to the current 53 talukas. The number of infection epicentres has also gone up from 281 to 566 in the same period, the official said. Regional joint commissioner (Nashik) Baburao Narwade said the spread of infection is rising and the total number of cases has now reached 19,298 which was just 3,539 two months ago. The deaths in the region have also increased to 989. At 360 deaths, Jalgaon is on top followed by Ahmednagar (330) and Nashik (150) districts. All the cattle have been vaccinated, he said. We also published the following articles recentlyTwo Nashik women held for harbouring drug kingpinTwo women from Nashik have been arrested by the Pune police for harboring drug kingpin Lalit Patil and financing his escape from Sassoon General Hospital. The women, identified as Pradnya Arun Kamble and Archana Kiran Nikam, were arrested in Nashik and brought to Pune. Evidence suggests that Nikam was in contact with Patil since 2018 and had visited him two days before his escape. The arrest raises questions about the nexus supporting Patil in the drug case. Nikams husband, who was a close friend of Patil, was murdered in 2017.Two more held in Rs 267 crore mephedrone drug seizure case at NashikTwo individuals, a technician and a supplier, have been arrested in connection with a major drug case involving 133kg of mephedrone worth Rs267 crores. The arrests were made following a raid in Nashiks Shinde Gaon on October 5. The technician and supplier revealed that the drugs were being manufactured since December 2022 at a unit owned by Lalit Patils brother Bhushan Patil, the main accused in the case. The drugs were supplied in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Nashik. This brings the total number of arrests to 14 in this drug bust.Drug kingpin drove to Nashik, Indore, Surat; nabbed in BluruAfter escaping from Punes Sasoon hospital, drug racketeer Lalit Patil was tracked through CCTV cameras and his relatives information. He traveled to various cities including Chalisgaon, Nashik, Indore, Surat, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Solapur, and Bengaluru. He was arrested in Karnataka while on his way to Chennai. Patil had been operating his drug trafficking business from Yerawada central jail. The police are now investigating his connections and the larger drug racket he was involved in.

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