Thane, Oct 26 (PTI) Slain Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar’s son on Monday demanded the arrest of former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband in connection with his father’s killing within 24 hours, warning of a protest outside Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s residence if no action is taken.
Presenting video clips and photographs at a press conference here, Ram Purnekar, son of Pradeep Purnekar, alleged that a helmeted individual captured in the footage appears to be wearing the same clothing and footwear seen on Rajendra Shinde just hours before the incident.
He also claimed that Rajendra Shinde was seen having tea with four of the arrested suspects.
Sena (UBT) Manpada ward chief Pradeep Purnekar was killed at his office on September 29. Five persons have been arrested in the case.
Ram Purnekar has accused former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde, who belongs to the rival Shiv Sena led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and her husband of plotting the crime.
Meenakshi Shinde has denied the allegations, terming them baseless. Her husband Rajendra Shinde has been questioned by the police in the case.
Ram Purnekar said the deputy CM had assured his family that justice would be served, but no concrete action has been taken so far.
The family 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 case.
Another video clip shared with the media showed Pradeep Purnekar stating before his death that if anything happened to him, the responsibility would rest with the police and Meenakshi Shinde.
The slain leader’s family alleged that officials were operating under political pressure.
Ram Purnekar said if the former mayor and her husband are not arrested within 24 hours, the family, along with the community members and political supporters, would stage a protest outside Eknath Shinde’s residence in Thane.
(PTI News)
