160-acre redevelopment project may be linked to Purnekar murder: Naik

THANE: The Thane police special investigation team (SIT) probing the murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar on Friday arrested two accused from Karnala in Raigad district while they were trying to flee to Goa, taking the total number of arrests in the case to three.

While Purnekar's family has alleged that former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband, Rajendra Shinde, both associated with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, were behind his murder, the Shiv Sena chief has maintained silence on the issue.

On Friday, Shinde's arch rival and state forest minister Ganesh Naik met Purnekar's family and assured them of a proper probe into the incident.

Naik, the BJP's sampark (contact) minister for Thane district, alleged that several people had told him Purnekar's murder could be linked to a redevelopment project spread over 160 acres in Thane district.

"Most people I spoke to said that disputes over the redevelopment of Manorama Nagar and Azad Nagar, spread over 160 acres, were the root cause. Some also said that he (Purnekar) acted against the drug mafia, while others claimed that an upcoming parking tower in Thane was behind his murder,'' said Naik.

"In Varsha darbar (public interactions held by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence, Varsha), no one is spared. I am confident that the guilty will not be spared," he noted.

On Friday, Meenakshi Shinde also addressed a press conference and denied any links to the murder. "Me or my family have nothing to do with the murder. I am ready to face the police probe," she said.

Probing all angles: Police

As reported by HT earlier, Purkenar, a former corporator and vibhag pramukh (division head) of the Shiv Sena (UBT), was shot dead by four masked assailants inside his office in Thane on September 29, around 9.30pm. The assailants fired several shots at the Sena (UBT) leader and attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon, leaving deep wounds on his neck, then fled from the spot on two motorcycles.

Pappya Shinde, a former aide and close friend of Purnekar who was present when the attack took place, was arrested hours after the murder, as police suspected his involvement after finding that he was unhurt despite four to five bullets being fired. Shinde had more than 12 criminal cases registered against him, including for attempted murder, extortion, and threatening and causing bodily injury, investigators said.

On Friday, Nitesh Pawar and Nikhil Yadav, who allegedly opened fire at Purnekar on September 29, were traced to and arrested from Karnala in Pen, based on information provided by five persons who were detained and interrogated earlier. The duo was produced before a magistrate court in Thane on Friday evening and remanded in police custody till October 8.

Investigators said the two two-wheelers allegedly used by the duo in the crime were registered under different names - One was registered in the name of Pawar's nephew's girlfriend, while the other was registered in the name of a person from Mumbra.

"How can the police determine that the masked persons and the person seen wearing a helmet in CCTV footage from the crime scene are Yadav and Pawar," he said, alleging the duo had been arrested illegally.

Meanwhile, investigators said they would interrogate prominent real estate developers involved in slum rehabilitation, redevelopment and cluster development projects, as well as people linked with drug peddling in the Manpada area, to ascertain if they had any role in Purnekar's murder. A woman, identified as Lawanya by Purnekar's son in a letter to the crime branch, would also be called for questioning, they noted.

According to the letter, Lawanya had threatened Purnekar of dire consequences earlier and was allegedly present at the crime scene.

Amarsinh Jadhav, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch), who heads the SIT, said they were investigating the matter from all possible angles to identify the accused and ascertain the motive behind the murder.

"We have not yet called Meenakshi Shinde and her husband for questioning, who have been named by the Purnekar family as the main conspirators," Jadhav said. "If required, we will call them for questioning."

Police teams have been dispatched to several states to trace and arrest the absconding accused, Jadhav said.

"We expect to get more information after interrogating the arrested accused. We will also call for questioning more people against whom Purnekar had lodged complaints, to ascertain if they had any role in his murder," the officer said.