The family of slain Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar has approached the Bombay High Court, alleging that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing his murder has failed to make meaningful progress and seeking a transfer of the investigation to an independent agency.
Purnekar was shot dead by unidentified assailants on September 29. Despite assurances from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of a fair investigation, his family has repeatedly questioned the conduct of the probe, with allegations pointing towards leaders of the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde in Thane.
Purnekar’s son, along with complainant Mandar Ghodke, filed a petition seeking an immediate transfer of the investigation to an independent agency in Maharashtra and directions for the High Court to monitor the probe to ensure a fair and impartial investigation.
The petition was mentioned before a bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Kamal R Khata on Wednesday. The court posted the matter for hearing on December 5.
FAMILY ALLEGES LAPSES, SEEKS ACTION AGAINST SIT CHIEF
The petition alleged that the SIT had failed to draw any concrete conclusions despite 35 days having passed since the incident. It claimed that the investigation had been deliberately kept inconclusive, raising fears that further delays could undermine the cause of justice.
The case was initially registered at the Kapurbawdi police station before being transferred to a 23-member SIT headed by Thane Crime Branch DCP Amarsinh Jadhav. Senior Police Inspector Shailesh Salvi is the investigating officer. DCP Prashant Kadam is also associated with the probe.
Thane Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbare has maintained that the investigation is progressing in the right direction. Five people have been arrested so far.
The SIT has also questioned former Thane mayor and Shiv Sena leader Meenakshi Shinde multiple times, along with her husband Rajendra Shinde, following allegations made by the victim’s family.
The petition sought a show-cause notice to DCP Jadhav, questioning why the SIT had allegedly failed to act on evidence and corroborative material submitted by Ghodke, including why the suspected accused had not been arrested despite the material being provided.
It also sought directions for the SIT to place on record the statements of suspected accused Rajendra Shinde, who was questioned over eight days.
The family further alleged that the SIT had failed to recover clothes allegedly worn by the accused at the time of the shooting. The petition claimed that bloodstains on the clothes could have been matched with the deceased’s blood samples and accused the investigators of deliberately weakening the case by not recovering them.
PETITION QUESTIONS RECOVERY OF PHONES, CITES UP STF FINDINGS
The plea also questioned the recovery of Purnekar’s two mobile phones before the registration of the offence, alleging that the family was not informed. It claimed that the move could have resulted in the destruction of crucial digital evidence that might have implicated the suspected accused.
Another key contention in the petition concerns material attributed to the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF). Citing an STF press note, the family claimed that arrested accused Santosh Kanojia had admitted to conspiring in and carrying out the murder along with others over a rivalry involving a block pramukh or corporator and the deceased.
The petition alleged that the SIT had failed to properly incorporate this material into its investigation and was attempting to suppress information recorded before a magistrate in Prayagraj and referred to in the UP STF’s press note.
The family has also sought directions to the SIT to maintain strict confidentiality regarding the identities of eyewitnesses and their statements until the conclusion of the trial, even if the investigation is transferred to another agency.
The allegations are part of the petition and are yet to be examined by the High Court.
– Ends
