Auto-rickshaw set on fire in Mumbai after MNS chief Raj Thackeray's 'hate speech'

Mumbai: An auto-rickshaw was set on fire in the Andheri locality of Mumbai on Thursday evening, a day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Raj Thackeray's hate speech against immigrant workers in the city.

The local police, which is probing the case, said the miscreants were "unidentified people" and there is no clarity on who was behind it.

The cause of fire is a matter of investigation, Ramesh Sitaram Khadtare, Senior Police Inspector, was quoted as saying by ANI.

On Wednesday, the MNS chief had warned that three-wheelers with new permits will be set on fire.

Thackeray alleged that nearly 70 percent of the auto-rickshaws recently cleared to run on Mumbai's roads belong to non-Maharashtrians.

"If any such auto with a new permit is seen plying on the road, those sitting inside will be asked to come out and the auto will be set on fire," he had said in a speech on the 10th anniversary of his party's foundation.

The speech had triggered a severe backlash from some political parties.

While the Congress said that the MNS chief should be booked for his provocative speech, Bihar deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav had hit back, saying, "I want to tell Raj Thackeray that Maharashtra is not anyone's 'baap ki jageer' (father's property)".

People from Bihar, who form a large section of migrant workers, have been regularly targeted  by Thackeray's party, the MNS, which accuses them of snatching jobs from the locals.