A senior police official also met MNS chief Raj Thackeray and asked him to restrain his party activists who resorted to violence against north Indians, particularly taxi drivers and vendors.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who held a meeting with police officials to review the law and order situation, said nobody will be allowed to disturb communal harmony and that attacks on non-Maharashtrians will not be tolerated.

In Pune the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers forcibly stopped screening of a Bhojpuri film. The afternoon show of film Bhojpuri Bhayya was stopped and the audience were forced to leave the theatre.

Meanwhile in a setback to Raj Thackeray, around 200 MNS members joined Shiv Sena in presence of Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray.

The MNS members, who are fed up with the anti-North Indian stance adopted by Raj, joined the Sena at a function at Bal Thackeray's residence Matoshree in suburban Bandra, Sena secretary Vinayak Raut said.

Asked about Sena's stand on the current political scenario in the backdrop of violence over Raj Thackeray's remarks against north Indians, Raut said, "This is a fight between Samajwadi Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, not between Maharashtrians and North Indians."