Thane: The police on Friday arrested two key suspects, including the shooter, allegedly involved in gunning down Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar in Maharashtra’s Thane city, police said. Acting on technical surveillance, police nabbed shooter Nikhil Yadav and accomplice Nitesh Pawar near Pen in Raigad district in an early morning operation, securing critical leads about the Ghodbunder Road shooting, an official said.
The fatal shooting on Tuesday night triggered tensions as hundreds of Sena (UBT) workers, alongside family members and senior leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut, gathered outside Kapurbawdi police station, carrying Purnekar’s mortal remains post-autopsy on Wednesday.
The police registered a case against five persons under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act.
The police had earlier arrested Papya Shinde, a former aide of Purnekar, while Santosh Kanojia, alias Talli, and another unidentified accused remain absconding.
A senior Crime Branch official said that Yadav and Pawar were tracked down following continuous technical surveillance and informant inputs, and with their arrest, the police have secured critical leads regarding the execution and planning of the crime.
Police have intensified search operations across Raigad, Thane, and neighbouring districts to trace the remaining two suspects, he said.
Further interrogation of the arrested individuals is underway to establish the motive behind the murder and recover the weapons used in the attack, he added.
The slain leader’s son Ram Purnekar, in a statement to the police, has accused former Thane mayor and Shiv Sena leader Meenakshi Shinde and her husband Rajendra of plotting the crime.
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