In Thane, a Shiv Sena leader was murdered, and the shooters hid in Prayagraj: they spent the night in a temple; they were planning to escape to Nepal via an auto driver.

After the murder of Pradeep (Bala) Purnekar, an office bearer of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction in Thane, Maharashtra, the two shooters who fled were hiding in Prayagraj, preparing to escape to Nepal. For this, they had contacted an auto driver from Naini. The auto driver had assured them that he would send them to Nepal in 2-3 days. He had also said that people were being illegally transported across the India-Nepal border.