Pradeep Purnekar murder: One arrested, four absconding after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader shot dead in Thane

Shiv Sena UBT leader Pradeep alias Balu Purnekarrsquos murder investigation took a new turn on Wednesday after Kapurbawdi Police arrested Papya Shinde who allegedly had an old enmity with the victimDuring interrogation Shinde denied involvement in the killing and told police that he knew the suspects who had allegedly planned and carried out the murder police sources saidPolice sources however said their intelligence inputs indicate that Shinde had a direct role in the killing Following his arrest Shinde was produced before a court on Wednesday which remanded him to police custody for further interrogationPurnekar the Thane division head of the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT was shot dead outside his office in Manpada by unidentified assailants on Tuesday night within the limits of the Kapurbawdi police stationHunt for other suspectsThe remaining suspects are currently absconding and several police teams have been formed to trace them officials confirmedAccording to police sources all the suspects including Shinde are locals and were familiar with the Manpada area and its various locations Police therefore believe they did not need extensive reconnaissance of the locality However the suspects allegedly watched Purnekar and tracked his movements for a couple of days before the attack sources saidThe reconnaissance was allegedly carried out to identify where Purnekar could be attacked with the suspects eventually targeting him at his office near Ganesh Nagar Church in Manpada on Tuesday nightFIR filedPolice have registered a case against five persons The First Information Report FIR registered at Kapurbawdi Police Station names Shinde Santosh Kanojiya alias Talli and Nikhil Yadav alias Shooter besides two unidentified persons It invokes Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS Sections 1031 35 and 61 along with Sections 3 25 and 27 of the Arms ActAttacked outside his officeAccording to the police complainant Mandar Baban Ghodke a relative of Purnekar and an eyewitness was at Purnekarrsquos office around 930 pm when Shinde arrived After a while Ghodke saw Kanojiya Yadav and two other men approach the office and then heard what sounded like four to five rounds of firingGhodke told police that he later found Purnekar injured and bleeding inside the office with Shinde allegedly holding him Purnekar was rushed to Infinity Hospital near R Mall where doctors declared him dead Police confirmed multiple sharpweapon injuries including injuries to his neck and right thighldquoShinde acted in concert as part of a planned conspiracy arising from political and social disputes However things would be clear after all suspects are arrestedrdquo a source saidRelation with accusedAccording to Ghodke Shinde was Purnekarrsquos former associate and had contested against him in an election around six months earlier He had also visited Purnekarrsquos office on September 28 a day before the murder and stayed there for about an hourPolice will now interrogate Shinde in custody and attempt to trace the remaining suspects and establish the exact sequence of the killing sources saidAaditya joins protestMeanwhile Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday joined party workers and Purnekarrsquos family in a protest outside Kapurbawdi police station demanding the arrest of all those involved in the murder and the identification of its alleged mastermind