People from North India being attacked by workers of MNS and Shiv Sena

Shopkeepers and migrant workers in Kolhapur from North India were attacked today publicly by workers from the Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray's MNS who were shouting slogans against North Indians.Two mobs of 50 people from each party armed with sticks said they were retaliating for the rape of a young baby on a construction site by a labourer from Jharkhand. An elderly man was kicked to the ground.The police intervened and broke up the mob with batons but the city, 386 kilometres from Mumbai, remains tense.

Five people have been arrested so far.The Shiv Sena is headed by Uddhav Thackeray. His estranged cousin Raj Thackeray is chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena or MNS. Both leaders are known for their hate speeches against migrant workers from states like UP and Bihar, in which they allege that jobs are being taken away from Maharashtrians by "outsiders."