29 October,2026 09:48 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray. File Pic
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was trying to protect former Thane Mayor Meenakshi Shinde in connection with the murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders alleged that the police had arrested only the contract killers and claimed that the alleged conspiracy would not be fully exposed until Meenakshi Shinde and Rajendra Shinde were arrested.
"We demand that the main accused and conspirator should be arrested at the earliest. We have no idea why she is being protected⦠When we met the police commissioner, we sensed that the policemen are convinced about who the main accused is," Thackeray said, according to news agency IANS.
Thackeray, along with Purnekar's son Ram, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and other Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders from Thane, addressed the media after meeting the Thane police commissioner.
Earlier, Thackeray visited Purnekar's residence to meet the slain leader's wife.
Thackeray said no arrests had been made despite the police being provided with CCTV footage that the party claimed was evidence in the case.
"What and why are you waiting for?" Thackeray asked. "This is a political murder of which CCTV footage is available. Why are the main conspirator and masterminds not being arrested? Why is Eknath Shinde so desperate to safeguard the accused and conspirator?" he said.
Thackeray also criticised Shinde over the detention of Ram Purnekar, who had reportedly gone to meet the Deputy CM to demand action in his father's murder case.
"We had come to Thane only to meet the Purnekar family and the police commissioner. But the local MP used abusive language and made a childish attempt to threaten us. Instead of facing us, they (Shinde-led Sena leaders) protested somewhere else and did not face us," Thackeray said.
He also criticised Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, accusing him of failing to deliver justice to the Purnekar family.
"The Home Minister is busy breaking parties, cutting trees and selling Sahyadri mountain ranges instead of stopping all these things," Thackeray said, IANS reported.
Targeting Fadnavis, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Maharashtra had never had such a weak Home Minister.
"I want to tell those who challenged us to come to Thane that we not only came here, but we are ready to wait till we face you. Don't boast because you are in power. It is not permanent. Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde are the main accused in this case, and people are coming out of the streets to safeguard killers," Raut said.
He added that the police would have to arrest both Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde.
(With IANS inputs)
