The attack took place around 9 pm in the Manpada-Manorama Nagar area, near Purnekar's office and under the jurisdiction of Kapurbawdi police station. According to the police, unidentified assailants fired at Purnekar, hitting him twice. He was taken to the hospital on Ghodbunder Road, where he died during treatment.
According to investigators, CCTV footage revealed that one of the two detained suspects was present at the scene at the time of the firing and was allegedly involved in the conspiracy, while the other had allegedly provided a vehicle to the two accused who carried out the firing.
One suspect has been formally arrested, while the other is being interrogated by the police. Investigators are also searching for other people potentially involved in the attack and are examining CCTV footage of the area and surrounding streets to ascertain the sequence of events and track the movements of the suspects.
DCP Prashant Kadam said that the body of Pradeep Purnekar was sent to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for post-mortem on Wednesday morning. “The detailed report will be available after the post-mortem,” he said. Reacting to the murder, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey expressed concern over the law and order situation in Maharashtra.
He told IANS, “What has happened to Maharashtra? There are so many criminals, mafia and murderers roaming freely that I can't even tell you. Be it Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Mumbai and now Thane. Late on Tuesday night, a senior leader of our party, Shiv Sena (UBT), was shot dead.”
Reports said the attackers were wearing helmets and masks. Police are examining footage from multiple cameras and other evidence to identify all those involved in the incident and find out how the accused fled from the scene.
The murder has also raised questions about a possible connection to a proposed movement against a local builder. According to reports, Purnekar had announced plans to protest against alleged irregularities by the local builder and had sought permission from the Kapurbawdi police for the protest. However, police have not confirmed any link between the proposed protest or the dispute with the builder and the murder.