By IANS
Mumbai : One person was killed and several people were injured Wednesday when a bus on the Mumbai-Nashik highway was burnt by activists of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) after their chief Raj Thackeray was arrested in Mumbai.
The bus belonging to the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was attacked near the Maharashtra town of Nashik, which saw tension escalating after the police swooped on Thackeray on charges of inciting ethnic hatred.
About 70 percent of the shops were closed in Nashik city, police sources said.
Authorities at the Nashik civil hospital said the injured were brought to them for treatment. One of the bus passengers succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from other parts of the state as well following the arrest of Thackeray.
Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi was also arrested and released on bail by a Mumbai court soon after.
Both Thackeray, nephew of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, and Azmi have been booked under non-bailable sections for promoting enmity amongst ethnic groups by using invectives and provocative language over the presence of north Indians in Mumbai.