A day after they were arrested over a Facebook post denouncing the bandh following Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s death, both Shaheen Dhada, 21, and Rinu Srinivasan, 20, are in shock over the extreme step taken by the police. Rinu, a resident of Palghar, Maharashtra, who was held for liking the post, told HT: “I do not have any political inclinations…I am a common person. The case will affect my career. I believe we should get justice.”

Shaheen, who issued an apology on Tuesday, said she stood by her post. “I was only expressing my opinion and I stand by it. This (her arrest) was unprecedented,” she said. “I did not apologise because I thought I had done something wrong. I apologised because my words hurt a few people.”

The families of both girls said they were planning to take them away from Palghar for a few days to deal with the trauma.

The Palghar police also arrested 10 Shiv Sena party workers for allegedly vandalising the hospital of Shaheen’s uncle Dr Abdul Dhada. “The 10 accused were produced before a court on Tuesday, following which they were remanded in judicial custody and subsequently released on bail of Rs. 7,500 each,” an official said.