MUMBAI, JULY 9: 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.”

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.

“Video footage suggests that the flames started inside, so we are also probing whether it could have been caused by a short circuit,” said Joint Commissioner (Police) Arup Patnaik after discussions with local policemen at the Shivaji Park Police chowki. “Our priority is to quell the disturbances and maintain order.”

The police said they still had no leads on the incident that sparked off the day’s disturbances.

A senior official from the Shivaji Park Police Station said that around 5.30 am, on its early morning round, the police squad—known as the Good Morning Squad—had done a routine check on the statue.

Said Senior Inspector Shashikant Chatur: “There was no desecration then, so this probably happened between then and 6-6.30 am before there’s activity on the streets. Our control room received a call at about 8.30 am complaining about the desecration.”

Sena reaction natural, but it has to stop, says Deshmukh

• Vilasrao Deshmukh, CM: This is an emotional reaction, very natural. But we have to restore law and order. Sena leaders should urge their followers to maintain peace

• R R Patil, Dy CM: We strongly condemn this act (of desecration), it’s a deliberate attempt to divide two communities. But taking to the streets and creating law and order problems would only serve the designs of anti-social elements

• Uddhav Thackeray, Sena executive president: This is a grave insult to all of us and we won’t tolerate it. We strongly condemn this and want the government to trace the culprits immediately

• Manohar Joshi, senior Sena leader: It’s condemnable. What were police doing, especially when the statue of Maasaheb Thackeray is located near a police chowki?

• Gopinath Munde, BJP leader: Maasaheb is our deity and this act has insulted millions who respect her. If the government fails to nab the culprits within 24 hours, we won’t allow the legislature to function

• Raj Thackeray, president, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena: I condemn this act. The government should immediately arrest the vandals. But my party won’t support the violence by Shiv Sainiks.

She (Maasaheb) was a kind-hearted, tolerant and patient woman, and the violence perpetrated to show respect to her is not proper —ENS