Thane, Oct 13 The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar summoned Rajendra Shinde, husband of former Thane mayor Meenaxi Shinde, for questioning on Tuesday regarding his alleged role in the conspiracy, a senior police official said.
Purnekar’s son had earlier submitted a formal statement accusing the former Mayor and her husband of orchestrating the killing, prompting the SIT to question Rajendra Shinde, the official said.
Purnekar, who served as the Uddhav Thackeray-led party’s ward chief in Manpada in Thane city, was assaulted with a chopper and shot dead on September 29.
The police have arrested the alleged assailants, Pappya Shinde, Nikhil Yadav, Nitesh Pawar and the key accused, Santosh Kanojia alias Talli and his aide Amit Singh alias Paplu, who was nabbed from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh last week.
The official said the investigative team has formally initiated a probe into Rajendra Shinde’s alleged role in the conspiracy and is questioning him regarding the crime.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had described the murder as most unfortunate and stated that he has directed the police commissioner to conduct an impartial probe into the crime.
(PTI News)
