New Delhi: Shiv Sena activists went on the rampage smashing gift shops and burning cards in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, protesting Valentine's Day celebrations on February 14.

The sainiks barged into a gift shop near National Park in suburban Borivli in Mumbai and burnt greeting cards and posters to register their protest over the "influence of Western culture on youths on the occasion of Valentine's Day".

They also staged a demonstration outside the shop and made a bonfire of Valentine cards and posters.

In the steel city of Jamshedpur, the sainiks made two vain attempts to barge into a park for love birds, but were foiled by police.

In Jaipur, Sena activists burnt cards alleging that it was against Indian ethos and culture to celebrate Valentine's Day. About 50 sainiks, who assembled near the mini secretariat shouting anti-Valentine Day slogans, set a bundle of cards on fire, police said.

Shiv sainiks broke the glass panes of gift shops in a number of localities of Indore and broke street lights. Nearly 40 people have been arrested in this connection.

Workers of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) took out a procession of donkey and buffalo with greeting cards pasted over them.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers joined the sainiks in burning greeting cards and ransacking shops in Nasik in Maharashtra.

PTI