Maharashtra was on boil today after Shiv Sainiks, protesting the desecration of a statue of Meena Thackeray, the late wife of Sena chief Bal Thackeray, burnt vehicles, blocked roads and shut business establishments in Mumbai and several other cities of the state.

Police officials said the statue, which stands on the eastern edge of Shivaji Park in Mumbai, had mud smeared across the face.

In the evening, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said his government would deal severely with lawbreakers. Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy said: “Fifty-four people have been arrested across the city for creating disturbances. Over half of our force is out on the streets maintaining order.”

Until evening, the police had made no arrest for the desecration and had registered a case of religious sentiment being offended.

Throughout the day, groups of Sainiks arrived at the statue site in buses and motorcycles, burnt effigies and raised slogans against Pakistan, as well as Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi.

Tension between the two parties have been high in recent days with the Sena alleging that Azmi provoked a mob to unleash violence in the neighbouring town of Bhiwandi during protests against the construction of a new police station on what allegedly is a burial site.

After visiting his mother’s statue in the morning, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray criticised the police and justified the protests: “If derogatory cartoons appearing in a newspaper in far-off Denmark can have repercussions in India, this incident is bound to provoke reactions from Shiv Sainiks.”

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