Thane: Shiv Sena corporator and former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde resigned as Thane district chief of the party’s women’s wing on Thursday, triggering a fresh political flashpoint over the investigation into Shiv Sena (UBT) Manpada division chief Pradeep Purnekar’s murder a month ago — on Sept 29.Meenakshi, a close confidante of Shiv Sena chief and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, and her husband Rajendra have repeatedly been named by Purnekar’s family and the opposition as the alleged masterminds of the killing. The allegations remain unproven.In her resignation letter addressed to her political mentor, Eknath Shinde, Meenakshi reportedly cited displeasure over what she described as unnecessary targeting of the deputy CM and said she was stepping down from her organisational post amid the controversy. Eknath Shinde confirmed receiving the resignation, but it remained unclear until late Thursday whether he had accepted it. Meenakshi continues to hold other party posts and remains a corporator.The resignation followed demands by Purnekar’s family over the past month for Meenakshi’s arrest and expulsion from Shiv Sena. Earlier, cabinet minister Pratap Sarnaik had said that a person should step down if investigated or questioned in a serious case. Meenakshi had similarly offered to resign before the 2026 civic elections over seat distribution in ward 3, but the party leadership did not accept it.Her resignation has given Shiv Sena (UBT) an opportunity to intensify its attack on the ruling faction and question the handling of the Purnekar murder investigation. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and MLA Aaditya Thackeray met the Purnekar family on Thursday, while scores of Shiv Sena workers gathered around Tembhi Naka, the city’s political nerve centre, temporarily disrupting traffic in the afternoon. Police reported no violence or major disruption to normalcy till Thursday night.After meeting Thane police commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre, Thackeray alleged that Purnekar’s son, Ram, was ill-treated by police when he had visited Eknath Shinde’s residence on Tuesday to seek justice for his murdered father. “CCTV footage shared by the family warranted immediate arrest of Meenakshi and her husband. Their questioning was necessary to establish the motive behind the murder. The Purnekars are not making baseless allegations, but are presenting evidence,” Thackeray said, accusing police of acting under the influence of Eknath Shinde, who is also Thane guardian minister.Thackeray also targeted chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, accusing him of prioritising political defections and the destruction of trees and forests while a murder investigation remained unresolved.Shiv Sena defended the investigation and accused the Thackerays of politicising the case. “Police have questioned the Shinde couple for several hours. Let the investigation establish who the real culprits are,” Sena MP Naresh Mhaske said, questioning Thackeray’s right to comment on the Purnekar case by citing allegations involving him in celebrity manager Disha Salian’s death case. “We would approach Union home minister Amit Shah and CBI seeking faster action in the Salian case and Thackeray’s arrest, and would organise a march in Mumbai, if required.”Mhaske warned that Shiv Sena workers would not tolerate further personal attacks on Eknath Shinde and alleged the Thackerays were jealous of his popularity.Issuing a warning to Sena (UBT) and the opposition, Mhaske said Shiv Sena workers would not tolerate further personal attacks on Eknath Shinde and alleged the Thackerays were jealous of his popularity.
