Meenakshi Shinde Faces Heat From Within Shiv Sena Over Purnekar Murder Probe
Maharashtra minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik said on Wednesday that Meenakshi Shinde should step down till the completion of the probe into the murder of Purnekar.
Mumbai: Pressure is mounting on former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde in connection with the murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar, with even her own party leaders on Wednesday calling for her to step down as corporator while the investigation is under way. Shinde is a sitting Shiv Sena corporator from Thane.
Maharashtra minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik said on Wednesday that Meenakshi Shinde should step down till the completion of the probe into the murder of Purnekar.
Sarnaik said it was his personal opinion that Meenakshi Shinde should step down on moral grounds until the investigation concluded. He said he has already shared his views with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Shinde is a corporator in the Thane Municipal Corporation and an office-bearer of the local Shiv Sena unit.
On Tuesday, Shinde was questioned for the first time on Tuesday by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the murder of Pradeep Purnekar. The questioning, which took place at the office of Thane Anti-Extortion Cell, lasted for approximately seven hours. “I am cooperating fully with the police,” she said after the inquiry.
To protest Purnekar’s murder, hundreds of supporters of Purnekar also blocked Thane’s arterial Ghodbunder Road and burnt tyres on Tuesday, causing a huge traffic jam overnight, stranding commuters for hours and forcing many to walk several kilometres to reach home.
Purnekar’s son, Ram Purnekar, has demanded the arrest of former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband Rajendra Shinde in connection with his father’s murder on September 29.
Pradeep Purnekar, the Shiv Sena (UBT) Manpada ward/division chief, was attacked and killed in his office by unidentified assailants on September 29.