Purnekar was attacked at his Manpada office around 9.30pm on Tuesday, with four rounds fired and two bullets hitting him.
Shinde had been visiting the office for 2-3 days before the incident and arrived around 9 pm on Tuesday as usual.
Four other suspects are on the run, police said. Sources said that on realising Purnekar was alone, Shinde allegedly called his associates. Sources said a drug-related case had been lodged at Chitalsar police station, and Purnekar was pressing for some names to be included.
THANE: Police probing the gunning down of Shiv Sena (UBT) Manpada division chief Pradeep alias Balu Purnekar has arrested his old associate who was present during the attack and shifted him to hospital. The arrested man, Papya Shinde, had parted ways with Purnekar during the civic elections. The four on the run are Santosh Kanojia, Nikhil Yadav, Nitesh Pawar alias Bhavdya and Akash Nimse. Shinde, who was with Purnekar at the time, was not attacked and took him to hospital. Police found it suspicious that he escaped unharmed and nabbed him. Police are verifying this through CCTV footage and call records. On the day of killing, Purnekar had sought nod to hold a protest against a builder, which was rejected. Police are examining whether there is any lin k to this. They are also looking at the political angle. The motive is yet to be established.
