The violence was widely reported as having been orchestrated by D-Company and their associates with the help of local Muslims. Later the Shiv Sena, a Hindu-nationalist political party in Maharashtra also participated in riots to respond the violence against them. A high-ranking member of the special branch later stated that the police were fully aware of the Shiv Sena's capabilities to commit acts of violence, and that they had incited hate against the minority communities. Historian Barbara Metcalf has described the riots as an anti-Muslim pogrom.