Ram Purnekar detained outside Shinde's Thane home; leaders stage sit-in at Naupada police station

The murder case of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradip, also known as Balu, Purnekar in Thane has taken a new turn. Police detained Ram Purnekar, and the city's political atmosphere has been charged ever since.

Ram Purnekar was trying to stage a protest outside Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's residence in Thane. Wagle Estate police detained him and brought him to Naupada police station, where a major political commotion followed.

News that Ram Purnekar had been brought to Naupada police station spread quickly. Within moments, leaders of all parties, workers and members of the Purnekar family arrived at the station in large numbers.

In the cabin of the senior police officers at Naupada police station, former MP Rajan Vichare (Shiv Sena UBT), MNS Thane district president Avinash Jadhav, local Congress leaders, representatives of various political and social organisations and members of the Purnekar family gathered. The leaders and the family bombarded the police with questions.

The mood of the leaders of all parties and the Purnekar family at the station was highly aggressive. They demand the immediate arrest of former mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband Rajendra Shinde, the main suspects in the murder of Pradip, also known as Balu, Purnekar. The leaders have clearly warned the police that until the two are arrested and they receive firm assurance about the investigation, they will continue their sit-in inside the police station and will not leave.

While discussion and argument went on between the leaders and senior officers inside the station, a large crowd of women and men gathered in the station compound. Supporters and local residents more or less surrounded the area around Naupada police station.

Twenty-six days have passed since the murder of Pradip Purnekar, yet the main conspirator and the accused are still at large. This is why people's anger and resentment came out openly on this occasion.

The protest outside the Deputy Chief Minister's bungalow, Ram Purnekar's detention and the sit-in by leaders of all parties at Naupada police station have made the question of law and order in Thane serious. Thane Police have so far given no official response or stated any position on the people against whom allegations have been made and whose arrest has been directly demanded. The whole state is watching what action the police take in the face of this growing political pressure.