Former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde has resigned as president of the Shiv Sena district women’s wing after the family of murder victim Pradeep Purnekar accused her and her husband, Rajendra Shinde, of conspiring in the case. She will continue to serve as a councillor in the Thane Municipal Corporation, according to Navbharat Times – Mumbai.
Shinde sent her resignation to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on October 29, while also setting out her position in a letter. She said allegations made against her on social media and within the party had caused her distress and claimed that a conspiracy was being carried out by several people to pressure the party leadership.
The resignation follows the killing of Purnekar, who was shot dead in the Manpada area of Thane on September 29. The case is being investigated by a special investigation team, or SIT. The report did not establish that Shinde or her husband had been charged or named as accused by the investigating authorities. The allegations cited in the report were made by members of the victim’s family.
The issue has become a point of confrontation between the Shiv Sena factions led by Eknath Shinde and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. The opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) has been attacking the government and the Shinde-led party over the case.
A day before Shinde’s resignation, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said, in his personal view, that she should step down from her organisational position until the investigation was completed. Sarnaik also accused opposition parties of politicising the murder case and pointed to the SIT inquiry already under way.
In her resignation letter, Shinde said she had worked for the party with full loyalty and had never done anything that would bring embarrassment to the party or its leadership. She described her decision as one taken to respect Eknath Shinde’s leadership and protect the party’s reputation, rather than as a result of personal anger.
The resignation changes Shinde’s organisational role but does not affect her position as a Thane civic councillor, based on the report. The SIT investigation remains ongoing, and the report did not provide details of any charges, arrests or findings against the former mayor or her husband. Further action will depend on the outcome of the inquiry and the authorities’ subsequent steps.
