Thane Police Interrogate Minakshi Shinde For Seven Hours In Pradeep Purnekar Murder Case

Police Questioning And Protests

Thane police questioned former mayor Minakshi Shinde for seven hours regarding the murder of Shiv Sena Thackeray faction vibhag pramukh Pradeep Purnekar at Manpada. Five people have been arrested in the case so far, while the questioning of Minakshi Shinde and her husband continues. Following her interrogation, Minakshi Shinde spoke to the media and stated that her stance has remained unchanged since the first day and she will cooperate with the police whenever called. Meanwhile, according to Loksatta, protesters blocked the Ghodbunder road by burning tyres to protest the murder and demand the arrests of Rajendra Shinde and Minakshi Shinde, causing massive traffic jams between Manpada, Kapurbawdi, and Kasarvadavali areas where commuters faced delays of up to an hour for a ten-minute stretch.

Family Outrage

Ram Purnekar led a protest by the victim's family, but Thane police detained him before the demonstration began. Following this, the Purnekar family and Thackeray faction workers staged a sit-in protest outside the Naupada police station, demanding the immediate arrest of Minakshi Shinde and Rajendra Shinde. The deceased leader's wife, Vijeeta Purnekar, expressed severe anger, stating that police forced her son into a rickshaw to bring him to the police station while treating them like accused parties rather than complainants. Vijeeta Purnekar questioned why the guardian minister is protecting the Shinde couple despite strong video proof, vowing that she will not leave the police station until both husband and wife are arrested and dragged there.

Context

High-profile political tensions often spill over into public demonstrations and police station sit-ins in urban local disputes across Maharashtra. Police investigations in politically sensitive murder cases typically involve questioning local leaders and associates whose names are raised by aggrieved families during protests.