Former aide held in Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar’s murder

The arrested accused, Prakash alias Papya Shinde, allegedly conducted a recce at Purnekar’s office a day before the attack

THANE: One person has been arrested and four others booked for the murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar, who was shot by four assailants inside his office in Thane on Tuesday evening.

Hundreds of supporters of Pradeep Purnekar gathered outside the Kapurbawdi police station on Wednesday, demanding action against the accused. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo)

The arrested accused, Prakash alias Papya Shinde, was a former aide and close friend of Purnekar and was present when the attack took place, police said. Shinde took the injured Purnekar to the hospital, but police suspected his involvement after finding that he was unhurt despite four to five bullets being fired. He was arrested hours later, with police alleging that he had conducted a recce at Purnekar’s office a day before the attack.

“We have arrested Papya Shinde as one of the five accused in the case. Four assailants have been identified, and several of our teams are searching for them. Papya Shinde, a close aide of Pradeep Purnekar, was present during the attack and also took Purnekar to the hospital. We are investigating his role in detail. The assailants in the case are residents of the same locality,” said Dyneshwar Chavan, joint commissioner of police, Thane.

Police have identified two of the four absconding accused as Santosh Kanaujia and Nikhil Yadav. The five accused, including Shinde, have been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Indian Arms Act relating to murder, criminal conspiracy and illegal use of firearms.

Meanwhile, Purnekar’s family has alleged that former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband, Rajendra Shinde, both associated with the Shiv Sena, were behind his murder. Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Kapurbawdi police station on Wednesday, demanding legal action against the couple. The family has said it will not cremate Purnekar’s body unless the couple is booked in the case.

According to the complaint filed by Purnekar’s son, Ram, four masked assailants attacked his father at his office in Manorama Nagar around 9.30pm. They fired shots at him and also attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon, leaving deep wounds near his neck.

Shinde, who had ended his association with Purnekar around six months ago, had unexpectedly visited the office at around the same time on Monday, allegedly to conduct a recce, the complaint said.

On Tuesday, Shinde allegedly arrived at the office with four other men, including Kanaujia and Yadav. At Shinde’s request, Purnekar asked his supporters to leave the two alone. Within minutes, those outside heard gunshots. When they entered, they found Shinde holding Purnekar, who was lying in a pool of blood. The attackers, who had arrived on two motorcycles, fled after the assault.

Shinde and Purnekar’s supporters rushed him to nearby Infinity Hospital, where he died during treatment. His body was later sent to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for a postmortem examination.

Political rivalry

The Purnekar family has alleged that Pradeep’s murder was linked to a long-running political rivalry. Pradeep’s wife, Vijeta, had contested the Thane Municipal Corporation elections in January against Meenakshi Shinde but lost to the Shiv Sena candidate by a few hundred votes. The Purnekars subsequently alleged that Shinde had won the election fraudulently. Pradeep’s brother, Jaynath, is also a former TMC corporator.

Ram Purnekar, in his complaint, alleged that Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde had been planning to kill his father for around 18 months. He claimed that his father had shown him a call recording in which the couple allegedly discussed killing him. He also alleged that the couple and the other accused had held a meeting at Neelkanth Greens, where they reside, days before the murder.

“I used to refer to Papya Shinde as kaka (uncle). He had come to the office at around 9pm on both Monday and Tuesday and kept talking to my father inside the office. On Tuesday, he dropped one of the accused near the office and then sat with my father. At around 9.35pm, my father was attacked,” Ram said.

“I have no doubt about the involvement of Meenakshi Shinde and her husband, but I am fully confident that they are behind my father’s murder. Unless they are booked and named in the FIR, we will not allow my father’s body to be cremated.”

Dismissing the allegations, Meenakshi Shinde said, “Let the police investigate and find out who is guilty. I will answer then. I don’t want to get into petty politics.”

Chavan said the police are investigating the case from “political, social and other angles” and examining CCTV footage and other evidence to trace the absconding accused.

The protest outside Kapurbawdi police station led to road blockages and severe congestion on Ghodbunder Road. Around nine teams from nearby police stations, along with traffic police personnel, were deployed to maintain law and order. Shops and other commercial establishments in Manorama Nagar remained closed in solidarity with Purnekar.