Thane: Opposition parties on Saturday urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to identify and rein in the “Aaka” (mastermind) of Thane, pointing out over 52 murders reported in the region this year, including the recent killing of a police sub-inspector, which they claimed had raised safety concerns for residents.The figures were mentioned at a joint news conference by Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), MNS and local alliance partners, where they announced a protest march on Friday to condemn the killing of UBT functionary Pradeep Purnekar.“We will hold a morcha and march to Thane police headquarters to draw CM Fadnavis’ attention to the deteriorating law-and-order situation. The city has also witnessed a spurt in the blatant trade of contraband, with little apparent fear of the law,” said former UBT MP Rajan Vichare and NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad. Vichare also criticised deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde for his silence on Purnekar’s killing.Meanwhile, UBT state functionary Sushma Andhare questioned whether Purnekar’s repeated RTI applications—seeking information on alleged discrepancies in the caste certificate submitted by corporator and former mayor Meenakshi Shinde during elections, as well as alleged irregularities in a builder’s construction of a parking tower—could have triggered the attack and demanded a CBI probe.“There are official records showing Balu Dada had sought information through RTI. We have also been told that the accused may have met at a restaurant in the Pawar Nagar area, where some financial transactions also happened ahead of the incident. The police should examine CCTV footage and investigate accordingly,” Andhare said during a press interaction, where she challenged Meenakshi Shinde to undergo narcoanalysis tests if she was confident of her innocence.Shiv Sena MP Jyoti Waghmare, addressing the media in Thane, rejected the opposition’s allegations and said the UBT was targeting Deputy CM Shinde out of frustration.
