Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is desperate to safeguard former Thane Mayor Meenakshi Shinde from the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar murder case.

The Sena (UBT) leaders alleged that the police have merely arrested the contract killers and that until Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde are arrested, the true conspiracy will never come out.

“We demand that the main accused and conspirator should be arrested at the earliest. We have no idea why she is being protected…when we met the police commissioner, we sensed that the policemen are convinced about who the main accused is,” said Thackeray, addressing a press conference in Thane.

Thackeray, along with Purnekar’s son Ram, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders from Thane, held a press conference after holding a meeting with the Thane police commissioner.

Earlier, Thackeray visited the house of Purnekar to meet the wife of the dead leader.

Thackeray said that despite giving the evidence of CCTV footage, arrests have not been made.

“What and why are you waiting for?” Thackeray asked. “This is a political murder of which CCTV footage is available. Why are the main conspirator and masterminds not being arrested? Why is Eknath Shinde so desperate to safeguard the accused and conspirator?” he asked.

Thackeray criticised deputy CM and Thane’s guardian minister Eknath Shinde for detaining Ram Purnekar, who had gone to meet the latter demanding action in his father’s murder.

“We had come to Thane only to meet the Purnekar family and the police commissioner. But the local MP used abusive language and made a childish attempt to threaten us. Instead of facing us, they (Shinde-led Sena leaders) protested somewhere else and did not face us,” said Thackeray.

He also slammed Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis for failing to deliver justice to the Purnekar family.

“The Home Minister is busy breaking parties, cutting trees and selling Sahyadri mountain ranges instead of stopping all these things,” he said.

Targeting CM Fadnavis, Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut said that Maharashtra never had such a weak home minister.

“I want to tell those who challenged us to come to Thane that we not only came here, but we are ready to wait till we face you. Don’t boast because you are in power. It is not permanent. Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde are the main accused in this case, and people are coming out of the streets to safeguard killers,” he said, adding that police will have to arrest both of them.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday carried out searches at multiple locations in Pune in connection with an alleged bank fraud case involving M/s Aaj Ka Anand Papers Pvt Ltd, an official statement said.

The agency recently registered a case against the company, its directors and unknown public servants based on a complaint filed by the State Bank of India (SBI), Mumbai.

The complaint alleges criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, and manipulation of accounts, resulting in a wrongful loss of Rs 81.66 crore to the bank.

According to the CBI, the accused allegedly suppressed and misappropriated business revenues, altered and falsified books of accounts and electronic records, and diverted funds in violation of lending conditions.

Investigators suspect that substantial amounts were routed through current accounts maintained outside the designated banking channels without obtaining the consent of consortium lenders.

The agency said the alleged diversion of funds and unauthorised transactions amounted to cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and criminal conspiracy, causing significant financial loss to SBI.

As part of the ongoing probe, CBI teams searched several premises linked to the company and its directors. The searches covered both office establishments and residential properties associated with the accused persons.

During the operation, investigators recovered documents and digital evidence that are believed to be relevant to the case. The seized material is being examined to ascertain the full extent of the alleged fraud, including the suspected diversion and misappropriation of funds, as well as the involvement of other individuals who may have played a role in the conspiracy.

The CBI said the evidence collected during the searches would help investigators trace the flow of funds and determine whether there were any violations of banking norms and sanction conditions imposed by the lending institutions.

Further investigation in the case is underway, the agency added.

NCP president and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Thursday admitted that the Maharashtra Legislative Council election results call for self-introspection.

She was reacting after the NCP nominee Satish Chavan lost to the NCP SP candidate Pratapsinh Patil in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ seat.

MahaYuti alliance won Pune and Amravati Teacher’s seats while the Maha Vikas Aghadi bagged three seats including Pune, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ Constituencies.

Speaking to reporters, Sunetra Pawar said, “In any election, there are victories and defeats. Even when the results come out, self-introspection is necessary, and we will do so. We will try to improve. I genuinely feel that this result calls for self-introspection on our part.”

Her reaction comes after the party working president Praful Patel, in his post on X, said, “Today’s Vidhan Parishad election results serve as a definitive wake-up call. The time has come for urgent introspection to rebuild trust, realign our priorities, and fix our organisational structure.”

The Maharashtra NCP chief Sunil Tatkare said, ” We will sit together and analyse the outcome.” Earlier, he emphasised that candidate selections and election outcomes reflect a collective failure and joint responsibility of the party leadership rather than individual missteps.

Pawar’s comment comes after the BJP and Shiv Sena engaged in a war of words over the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls. MahaYuti leaders expressed their displeasure and blamed Shiv Sena for the defeat. BJP placed the blame on Shiv Sena, stating that the loss occurred due to a lack of support from their ally. BJP accused Shiv Sena’s stance of undermining the Mahayuti’s strategy.

BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban stated that in the Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituency elections, ally Shiv Sena did not extend the expected cooperation in Pune and Nagpur.

By extending last-minute support to Sachin Sanap in Pune, Shiv Sena dealt a blow to Mahayuti’s unity. The votes Sanap received did not go to the BJP candidate in the Graduate constituency election.

Furthermore, in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Abdul Sattar actively campaigned directly against the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which also caused a setback, Ban added.

In a post on social media, Ban wrote: “In the elections for the Teachers’ and Graduate constituencies, ally Shiv Sena did not provide the expected cooperation in Pune and Nagpur. By supporting Sachin Sanap at the last moment in Pune, Shiv Sena hit the unity of Mahayuti. The votes he received were lost to BJP in the Graduate election.

In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Abdul Sattar campaigned directly against NCP, which also hurt our prospects. Had Shiv Sena followed the coalition ethics (Mahayuti Dharma) and supported BJP and NCP, Mahayuti would have won all five seats. However, out of greed for a single seat in Pune, Shiv Sena put its allies in trouble and lost the opportunity to win three seats. Damaging allies for the sake of one seat is not in the interest of Mahayuti.”

However, Shiv Sena spokesperson Anand Paranjape said that in Pune, if BJP had given a ticket to a loyal worker, it would have created enthusiasm among voters; BJP’s own workers rejected the outsider candidate. He demanded that the BJP should give due respect to alliance partners.

“There was a strong demand from party workers that Shiv Sena should contest one of the two seats in Pune during the Legislative Council elections. The candidate fielded by the BJP in the Pune Graduate constituency was not even a BJP member. Had the BJP given a ticket to a loyal worker who had dedicated his life and worked with steadfast loyalty for the party, that candidate would certainly have generated enthusiasm among party workers and voters. However, fielding an outsider candidate caused resentment among loyal BJP workers. BJP’s own workers and voters rejected this candidate. Therefore, blaming this defeat on Shiv Sena is incorrect,” remarked Paranjape.

“The notion that “we (BJP)will contest all seats and win all seats” is not appropriate for the Mahayuti. The BJP must maintain the respect of its alliance partners,” Paranjape said.

He added, “The BJP, which claims to be the world’s largest party, should introspect on its own electoral strategy and internal discontent instead of shifting the blame for defeat onto its allies.”