Nasik, Feb 15: Police and civic authorities sponsored a peace rally here on Thursday to soothen the nerves of north Indian migrants after days of ethnic violence in the city.

"North Indians had started to feel threatened, and around 5,000 to 6,000 of them left the place within four to five days. To calm down their fears, we decided on this rally," Nasik's police chief, S. M. Sayeed, said.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists had unleashed a wave of terror in Nasik and other Maharashtrian cities, including Mumbai, against north Indians.

MNS leader Raj Thackeray, who was charged by the police of instigating hatred between among communities, was arrested and then granted restrictive bail.

The MNS is a breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena that earlier used to espouse the cause of Marathi speaking people of the state. (ANI)