Pradeep Purnekar murder: Son alleges conspiracy, seeks arrest of former mayor Meenakshi Shinde

Ram Purnekar (right) with his father, Pradeep Purnekar, during happier times. Pic/Instagram/@ram_purnekar

The son of slain Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar on Monday demanded the arrest of former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband within 24 hours. Ram Purnekar warned that the family and supporters will protest outside Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Thane residence if action is delayed.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar. Pic/Facebook/pradeep.yashwant.purnekar

Plot allegation

Ram has accused Meenakshi Shinde, who belongs to the rival Shiv Sena led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and her husband of plotting the murder. Meenakshi has denied the allegations, calling them baseless. Police have questioned Rajendra in connection with the case. Ram said, "The deputy CM had assured his family that justice would be served, but no concrete action had been taken so far."

A screengrab from the footage shows a person allegedly wearing clothes similar to those of Rajendra Shinde. Pic/X/@Mumbaim71318475

Political pressure

The family alleged that officials were acting under political pressure. It displayed photographs showing one of the accused posing with the deputy CM, as well as pictures featuring Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik with an accused and alongside the chief of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murder. Another video clip shared with the media showed Pradeep saying before his death that if anything happened to him, the responsibility would lie with the police and Meenakshi Shinde.

Video evidence

At a press conference, Ram presented video clips and photographs, alleging that a helmeted person in the footage appeared to be wearing clothes and footwear similar to those of Rajendra Shinde hours before the September 29 murder at Pradeep's office. Ram also claimed that Rajendra was seen having tea with four of the five arrested suspects.

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