[1][2] Communal tensions followed public awareness of derogatory photographs of Maratha king Shivaji and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray uploaded to social media.
[7] Police made arrests including the leader[8] of Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS), a Hindutva group, for their alleged role in the incident.
[11] Dhananjay Jayram Desai, the founder president of Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS) denied that his outfit had anything to do with the murder and said, "We understand that circulating derogatory pictures is a cyber crime but the problem cannot be solved by killing innocent persons.".
[12][13] Rajya Sabha MP and Congress leader Hussain Dalwai on 1 July 2014 alleged that police officers investigating the Mohsin Shaikh murder case were trying to cover it up, and they should be dismissed.
The High Court maintained that a witness' claim that a plan had been hatched to attack members of a community as directed by Desai was sufficient to deny bail.