Why political rivalries turn deadly in Thane, Mumbai’s booming neighbour

In Thane, political rivalries have repeatedly turned violent, with disputes over elections, land, and real estate surfacing in a series of murders and shootings over the decades. The murder of Shiv Sena vibhag pramukh Pradeep Purnekar on September 29 is the latest incident to draw attention to the intersection of local politics and the city’s lucrative redevelopment and real estate economy.

The history stretches from the 1989 killing of corporator Sridhar Khopkar over alleged cross-voting to the 2015 suicide of builder Suraj Parmar, the 2020 murder of MNS leader Jamil Shaikh, and a BJP MLA opening fire on a rival Shiv Sena leader inside a police station in 2024.

Former police officers and researchers say the enormous sums involved in redevelopment, competition among political networks for a share of the business and alleged political interference in policing have contributed to the recurring violence. A former IPS officer who had served in the Thane City police told The Indian Express, “The murders over the years are really ‘business murders’ and not ‘political murders’.