Thane: Traffic on Ghodbunder Road began returning to normal around 5 am on Wednesday, seven hours after hundreds of supporters of slain Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar’s family blocked the arterial road, burning tyres and bringing thousands of vehicles to a standstill overnight. The protesters were demanding the arrest of former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband Rajendra Shinde for their alleged involvement in Purnekar’s murder on September 29.
However, the disruption continued well into the morning as vehicles stranded since Tuesday night continued to pass through the affected areas, causing further congestion. Ghodbunder Road, the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, the Thane-Panvel route and several locations in Mumbra continued to witness traffic snarls. Abhishek Chendwane, a resident of Bhayander Pada on Ghodbunder Road, spent seven hours trying to get home. “Whenever we opened a diversion, they reached the spot and blocked it. “When we did not receive any positive response from the police, our supporters became angry and began protesting by blocking traffic. When we learnt about it, we went and requested the protesters to stop the agitation and allow vehicles to pass. The blockade followed a day of confrontation between the Purnekar family’s supporters and the police. Police detained him at Naupada police station for around eight hours, prompting hundreds of supporters to gather outside. Police have arrested five people in connection with the murder: Purnekar’s former aide Papya Shinde, Nikhil Yadav, Nitin Pawar, Santosh Kanaujiya and Amit Singh.
The agitation ended around 5 am on Wednesday after the Thane police resorted to a lathi charge against some protesters at Manpada to clear the road. It wasn’t until 11 am that traffic conditions started improving. “I reached Thane at 10 pm. By 12.30 am, I had reached Manpada. After getting stuck in the traffic jam, I took a turn at Manpada and then travelled via Kolshet, Vasant Vihar and Brahmand before finally reaching home at around 5 am. The protesters brought traffic to a standstill until 4 am on Wednesday. By 11 am, we were able to clear the traffic. When Ram was released around 9.30 pm, supporters headed towards Ghodbunder Road at Manpada and began blocking traffic. Pradeep Purnekar, a Shiv Sena (UBT) ward chief, was shot and hacked to death in his Manpada office by at least four masked assailants on September 29.
Because of this,” he said, my brother was known for helping the public, and we do not want people to suffer.
During my drive, I saw many people walking on the road at night, including women and children,” he said. Pankaj Shirsat, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Thane, said the protesters were aware of all the diversions on Ghodbunder Road. It took more time as two heavy containers developed a snag at Mumbra, and we had to clear them using cranes,” he said. Jaynath Purnekar, brother of the slain Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, said his family had not planned the protest. Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik also issued a warning: “If the Shiv Sena (UBT) can get thousands of people on the roads, we can get lakhs of people.”
On Tuesday, Purnekar’s son Ram attempted to march towards deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Thane residence, demanding the arrest of Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde.
