Purnekar murder: accused 'Talli' held in Prayagraj, helmeted suspect Paplu caught near Varanasi

A major breakthrough has come in the murder of Pradeep alias Balu Purnekar, sub-division chief of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) in Thane. Santosh Kanojia alias 'Talli', the fourth accused in the high-profile case, who had been absconding so far, has been arrested from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.

On the evening of Friday, October 9, 2026, the SIT caught two absconding accused. One is Talli; the other is Amit Jaikishan Singh alias Paplu, the accused seen wearing a helmet. With both now in custody, it is hoped that the mystery of the Purnekar murder will unravel.

According to the information available, the Thane Crime Branch team nabbed Talli from outside a temple in Prayagraj. The action has given pace to the police investigation.

It is said that since the murder, accused Santosh Kanojia had been changing his location constantly to evade the police. A Thane Police team had been on his trail for several days. Finally, with the help of technical investigation and informers, the police received firm information that he was hiding in a temple in Prayagraj. A trap was then laid and he was taken into custody. On Saturday, October 10, 2026, the Thane Crime Branch team will bring the accused to Thane. He will then be produced in court and police custody will be sought.

The police had already arrested three accused in the case. However, who the main conspirator is, and whether the real reason behind the murder was political or personal, has not yet fully emerged. With Santosh Kanojia's arrest, it is now expected that the police may get several important leads on who gave the contract for the killing, how the conspiracy was hatched and who the real mastermind behind the whole case is.

Details of the two absconding accused caught by the SIT: Santosh Mehilal Kanojia alias Talli is originally a resident of village Gahani, post Ayyar, district Banaras. The accused seen wearing a helmet during the murder, Amit Jaikishan Singh alias Paplu, is a rickshaw driver and lives in Bhayandar. His native village is Babiyaon, post Cholapur, district Banaras.

Both accused had fled after the murder. The police suspected they had gone to their villages, so teams were searching for them in Uttar Pradesh and along the India-Nepal border. During this, the SIT found Santosh Kanojia alias Talli. His friend, the helmeted accused Amit Jaikishan Singh alias Paplu, was also caught from Banaras. The SIT has taken both into custody and they will be brought to Thane on October 10, 2026.