THANE: Police probing the gunning down of Shiv Sena (UBT) Manpada division chief Pradeep alias Balu Purnekar has arrested his old associate who was present during the attack and shifted him to hospital. Four other suspects are on the run, police said.The arrested man, Papya Shinde, had parted ways with Purnekar during the civic elections. The four on the run are Santosh Kanojia, Nikhil Yadav, Nitesh Pawar alias Bhavdya and Akash Nimse.
Pradeep Purnekar murder case
Purnekar was attacked at his office in Manpada around 9.30 pm on Tuesday. Four rounds were allegedly fired, and two bullets hit him. The attackers also allegedly assaulted him with a sharp-edged weapon. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.Shinde, who was with Purnekar at the time, was not attacked and took him to hospital. Police found it suspicious that he escaped unharmed and nabbed him.Shinde had been visiting the office for 2-3 days before the incident and arrived around 9 pm on Tuesday as usual. Sources said that on realising Purnekar was alone, Shinde allegedly called his associates. Police are verifying this through CCTV footage and call records.In the FIR, Mandar Ghodke, a relative of Purnekar, said he and his friend Rahul Jaiswal were just outside the office when they were asked to step outside. Soon, he heard 4-5 firing-like sounds. He allegedly saw Kanojia alias Talli and a masked man fleeing on a white two-wheeler, and Yadav alias Shooter and a helmet-wearing man running out of the office.On the day of killing, Purnekar had sought nod to hold a protest against a builder, which was rejected. Sources said a drug-related case had been lodged at Chitalsar police station, and Purnekar was pressing for some names to be included. Police are examining whether there is any lin k to this. They are also looking at the political angle. The motive is yet to be established.
