THANE: The murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar has triggered a political row, with leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party alleging that former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband, Rajendra Shinde, were behind the killing. The couple is associated with the rival Shiv Sena faction led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.
Now, he has lost his life,” he said. This was after Purnekar’s family members also pointed fingers at the Shinde couple, claiming the murder was driven by political rivalry. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis holds the home portfolio. “He was also raising his voice over a proposed cluster development in Thane, and also against the drug mafia. I will answer then. I don’t want to get into petty politics. Pradeep Purnekar was a cousin of the late Congress leader Bala Purnekar and had also worked as a Congress block president.
The family joined the undivided Shiv Sena after Bala Purnekar’s death in 2017 and remained with the Uddhav Thackeray faction after the party split in 2022.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Raut questioned whether Thane was “not on the map of the home department” and whether the Thane police needed orders from Nandanvan, the official bungalow of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. Purnekar’s brother, Jaynath, a former Congress corporator, said his brother had a political rivalry with Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde. Dismissing the allegations, Meenakshi Shinde said, “Let the police investigate and find out who is guilty.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday criticised the Mahayuti government over the law-and-order situation and demanded that Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde be named as accused in the case.
