StatesMaharashtra
Sapkal accuses Thane police of shielding masterminds in Sena (UBT) leader's murder
The Maharashtra Congress chief visited Pradeep Purnekar's family and said only hired hitmen had been arrested. Former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde calls the family's accusations baseless.
Key points
- Shiv Sena (UBT) ward chief Pradeep Purnekar was shot and attacked with sharp weapons in Thane on 29 September.
- Police have arrested five people and questioned Rajendra Shinde, husband of a former mayor.
- Harshvardhan Sapkal said police were working to "protect the evildoers".
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal on Saturday accused the Thane police of shielding the people behind the murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar, saying officers had picked up only the men paid to carry it out.
Purnekar, the party’s Manpada ward chief, was shot at and then attacked with sharp weapons in a densely populated part of Thane on 29 September. Police have arrested five people and questioned Rajendra Shinde, the husband of former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde.
Sapkal spoke to reporters after visiting Purnekar’s family. “Instead of targeting the masterminds, the police are merely arresting hired hitmen,” he said, adding that the police were working to “protect the evildoers”.
He said the killing showed how far law and order had slipped in Maharashtra, and claimed the investigation was being steered away from the people named in the family’s statements and complaints.
A rivalry between two Senas
The case has deepened the feud between the two Shiv Senas. Purnekar’s son, Ram Purnekar, has accused Meenakshi Shinde and her husband of plotting the murder. She belongs to the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Meenakshi Shinde has denied the charge, calling it “baseless”.
There was no immediate response from the Thane police or the state government to Sapkal’s remarks.