The Mumbai Taximen's Union called off a flash strike late on Thursday afternoon after a senior state minister assured legal action against activists of a local political party who ransacked the union's office. "We called off the strike after the deputy chief minister assured us action would be taken against those who ransacked our office, and he requested us hold the peace and not precipitate the matter in the city," a union official told Reuters.

Earlier in the day, 30-40 activists of the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) ransacked the union office in south central Mumbai, in which some property was damaged, another official of the union, which controls 55,000 cabs in the city, said.

A majority of Mumbai's cab drivers are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the target of ire of MNS activists, who say migrants are stealing jobs from locals.