Murder of Sena (UBT) leader: Son accuses ex-Thane mayor, husband
The son of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar, who was shot dead in Thane, has given his statement to the police, accusing the city’s former mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband of orchestrating the crime, officials said on Thursday.
The Thane police have arrested a suspected assailant and detained another in connection with the murder, which triggered protests.
Amid mounting pressure, which also saw Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and Aaditya Thackeray joining a protest outside the Kapurbawdi police station in Thane on Wednesday, police recorded the detailed statement of Purnekar’s 26-year-old son Ram Purnekar.
In his statement, Ram accused former Thane mayor and Shiv Sena leader Meenakshi Shinde and her husband Rajendra Shinde of plotting the crime.
Police have registered a case against five persons under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act after the Sena (UBT) 'Vibhag Pramukh' (division chief) was fatally attacked on Tuesday night near Ghodbunder Road.
The accused include Papya Shinde, a former aide of Purnekar, Santosh Kanojia, alias Talli, Nikhil Yadav, alias ‘Shooter’, and two unidentified individuals.
Ram told the police that he spotted Rajendra Shinde “meeting suspiciously” with Kanojia, Yadav and one Nitesh, alias Bhavdya Pawar, in the Ghodbunder area on the night of September 24. Upon returning home, Ram informed his father, who warned him not to step out after 10 pm, expressing fears that he might be targeted, reads the statement.
Ram told the police political and personal rivalries had been brewing since the Thane Municipal Corporation elections, where Meenakshi Shinde contested as a candidate of the Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and his mother Vijeta Purnekar and uncle Jayanath Purnekar were nominated by Sena (UBT).
He alleged that ongoing political feuds, land disputes, and his father’s relentless crusade against illegal activities prompted the former mayor and her husband to hatch a plot to target his father.
Meanwhile, amid heavy police presence, Purnekar was cremated in the presence of hundreds of people, including Sena (UBT) leaders.
Joint Police Commissioner Dyaneshwar Chavan has told the media that multiple teams of the local police and the Crime Branch are probing the case from all possible angles, adding that many accused in the case have past criminal records.
The incident took place around 9.30 pm in the Ghodbunder area within the jurisdiction of the Kapurbawdi police station when masked assailants opened fire on Purnekar inside his office and stabbed him with sharp weapons.
He was rushed to a private hospital nearby but succumbed while undergoing emergency treatment, police said.
Tensions flared on Wednesday afternoon when hundreds of Sena (UBT) workers, alongside family members and senior leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut, gathered outside Kapurbawdi police station, carrying Purnekar’s mortal remains post-autopsy.
Raut demanded that the police record the statement of Purnekar's son in a supplementary FIR and formally book and arrest a former mayor of Thane and her husband.
