{
  "id": 11404523,
  "title": "Shiv Sena leader Purnekar murder: Aide-turned-rival, suspected shooter among 3 arrested",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/shiv-sena-leader-purnekar-murder-aide-turned-rival-suspected-shooter",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T09:15:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/shiv-sena-leader-pradeep-purnekar-murder-aide-turned-rival-suspected-shooter-3-arrest-10903779/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Mumbai police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested two more individuals, Nikhil Yadav and Nitesh Pawar, on Thursday in connection with the murder of Shiv Sena UBT shakha pramukh Pradeep Purnekar. Purnekar was stabbed and shot dead on Tuesday night. This brings the total number of arrests in the case to three, with two suspects still at large. The SIT had previously arrested Purnekar's aide-turned-rival, Pappya Shinde. The exact roles of the accused are yet to be clarified as the team awaits the arrest and interrogation of the remaining accused. The SIT has also called for the examination of two women from Mira Road. Purnekar's son named former Thane mayor Meenakshi Shinde and her husband Rajendra Shinde for investigation, though they have denied the allegations. The investigation is exploring several possible motives, including an incident where the woman allegedly caught Purnekar with two men in a room.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}