But Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R R Patil, who spoke to Uddhav, said he had received an assurance that Shiv Sainiks would help maintain law and order.

As word of the desecration spread, protests spread to other cities in Maharashtra, with police making over 500 arrests across the state. In neighbouring Thane, public buses were burnt and traffic forced off roads.

In Pune, major markets also shut down in fear of violence, while protesters made some buses the target of their ire. Similar scenes were witnessed in Nashik with over 50 buses—mostly belonging to the state—being damaged by protesters, who also ensured that no shops remained open. Traffic was temporarily held up on highways like the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the Aurangabad-Jalna Road.

Maharashtra Director General of police, P S Pasricha said: “All police units have been alerted in the state. I have spoken to Police Commissioners and Inspectors General personally, asking them to keep strict vigil.”

In Mumbai, suburban trains were sporadically pelted and BEST buses were called off the roads in the afternoon as a safety measure.

The site of the Meena Thackeray statue and nearby Shiv Sena headquarters, Sena Bhavan, became the centre of protests and sloganeering. Motorists and BEST buses had to be first diverted from the arterial Gokhale Road, while shops in the area downed shutters.

Around 11.30 am, a tourist bus parked in front of Sena Bhavan was set on fire. The bus had a Gujarat registration number plate, but until evening, police had not traced its owner, and were undecided about registering a case.

... contd.