Purnekar murder: Thane police arrest main accused and aide in Prayagraj

Thane: A special investigation team of the Thane police has detained two accused in the killing of Pradeep Purnekar, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) party's Manpada division chief, from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. The two, aged 41 and 34, had evaded the police for about ten days after the killing.

The team traced the two through technical analysis and picked them up from the premises of a temple in Prayagraj, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) Amarsinh Jadhav said. The search reportedly took the team about 1,545 km. Police suspect that one of them, the alleged main accused, brought the other accused together, and investigators say the helmeted man seen with him on the day of the killing was the second man now detained.

Police had earlier arrested three others in the case.

Investigators are still working to establish where the conspiracy was planned and who was behind it. The two arrests are expected to speed up the investigation.

Sources: Loksatta; Pudhari