Sainiks on the rampage after desecration of bust

Shiv Sena activists went on the rampage in Mumbai and other parts of the state after the news of desecration of a bust of late Meenatai Thackeray, wife of Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, spread like wild fire.

Taking cue from Sena's executive president Uddhav Thackeray's provocative statement "" "If cartoons published in far off places like Denmark have impact, then incidents taking place in Mumbai will have an echo too", Sena activists burnt a private bus in Dadar and forced closure of shops in Dadar and adjoining areas.

Incidents of stone pelting on buses and local trains were reported from areas including Vikroli and Andheri. The angry Sena activists stopped the suburban train movement for more than an hour, forcing commuters to walk down the tracks to reach their destination.

Stone pelting and 'rasta roko' incidents were also reported from other parts of the state including Pune, Aurangabad, Nanded and Nashik. In Pune, some Sena activists tried to stage a rasta roko on old Pune-Mumbai highway but alert police foiled their attempt.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh called a meeting of senior state officials to take stock of the situation. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minster and Home Minister R R Patil, Director General of Police P S Pasricha, Mumbai police commissioner A N Roy and Chief Secretary D K Shankaran.

Talking to mediapersons after the meeting, Deshmukh appealed to the people to maintain peace and assured that the elements who had desecrated the bust of Meenatai would be arrested soon.

However, he warned that, stern action would also be taken against those spreading violence and hatred.

Reacting to the "deadline" of 24 hours given by the Sena-BJP leadership to arrest those who desecrated Meenatai's statue, Deshmukh said, "If they allow the police machinery to become free from their law and order duties, then they can concentrate on investigations".

Nearly 35 buses were damaged and two persons injured in the state, including a police sub inspector at Andheri. As many as 381 people had been arrested till evening, including 46 in Mumbai.