India, Oct. 1 -- One person has been arrested and four others booked for the murder of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar, who was shot by four assailants inside his office in Thane on Tuesday evening.

The arrested accused, Prakash alias Papya Shinde, was a former aide and close friend of Purnekar and was present when the attack took place, police said. Shinde took the injured Purnekar to the hospital, but police suspected his involvement after finding that he was unhurt despite four to five bullets being fired. He was arrested hours later, with police alleging that he had conducted a recce at Purnekar's office a day before the attack.

"We have arrested Papya Shinde as one of the five accused in the case. Four assailants have been ...