Former leader of the Shivsena Shinde Group, Lakshmi Tathe, has been arrested by the Telangana police. She was apprehended in Nashik's Panchavati area with the assistance of Nashik police. On June 8, 2024, 190 kilograms of cannabis were seized within the jurisdiction of the Damerla police station in Telangana, leading to her arrest.
The Telangana Anti-Narcotics Squad had conducted the raid, arresting two traffickers from Beed and Ahmednagar. During the investigation, Lakshmi Tathe's name surfaced, resulting in her arrest a month later.
Following Lakshmi Tathe's arrest, Shinde's Shivsena issued a clarification stating that she had already been expelled from the party and had no current affiliation with Shivsena.
Tathe was previously arrested in 2018
Notably, Tathe was arrested for the same crime in 2018.
It was revealed in the police investigation that Lakshmi Tathe, who was arrested in the marijuana smuggling case, had been working as the main dealer in the city. Interestingly, the police had mentioned that this business had also been operated by Lakshmi Tathe's family.
On June 12, 2018, before the marijuana was seized, Lakshmi Tathe had communicated with Akbar, the main orchestrator from Odisha. Police had said that Akbar was the primary orchestrator in Odisha and was responsible for sending marijuana according to the orders. The marijuana was being unloaded in Jalgaon and Sinnar. The rest of the marijuana was handed over to Lakshmi.
Tathe was expelled from Shinde Sena in 2023
Tathe was expelled from the Shiv Sena last year after a public fight with a woman colleague in party.
In 2023, a verbal altercation occurred between Lakshmi Tathe and Shobha Magar, both members of the women's wing of the Shivsena Shinde Group in Nashik, regarding party appointments, in the presence of Shivsena Secretary Bhausaheb Chaudhary.
Following this incident, Lakshmi Tathe went to the Mumbai Naka police station to file a complaint against Shobha Magar. However, Shobha Magar’s son, Dheeraj Magar, and several of his supporters caused a commotion at the police station.
Subsequently, both Lakshmi Tathe and Shobha Magar filed counter-complaints against each other at the Mumbai Naka police station. Both women were expelled from the party. In response to the demand for action in this case, Lakshmi Tathe threatened self-immolation in front of the Mumbai Naka police station.