The Maratha Kranti Morcha, that is spearheading the stir and call for the bandh across Maharashtra today, has decided to call of the protests after violence was reported across several areas of Mumbai and the state.
The group was protesting in demand for reservation for the Maratha community.
The Times of India reported that the bandh will go on till 5 pm, despite protest being called off.
The newspaper reported that violence was reported from several places with nine buses being intercepted and attacked in Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai city. NDTV reported that stones were pelted at two buses in Navi Mumbai.
Traffic was also blocked in several arterial roads across Mumbai, affecting daily city life.
News18 reported that the Sion-Panvel highway which was blocked earlier in the day had now been cleared.
Meanwhile NDTV reported that the police resorted to lathicharge and used tear gas on protesters who blocked the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
Earlier in the day, members of the Maratha Kranti Morcha were seen blocking a train in Thane.
ANI also reported that the members of the morcha were seen walking around the western suburbs of Bandra, requesting shopkeepers to down their shutters.
Visuals of arson and violence were seen from Mumbai and in and around the city since morning. A photo tweeted by ANI showed burning tires on a bridge in Thane.
While the protesters requested Bandra shopkeepers to keep their shops shut, they used force in Thane.
Another report in Hindustan Times said that shops in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Panvel were seen shut and autos were off the road. The report said that schools and colleges were exempt from the protests.
Security was stepped up in Mumbai with police forces in large numbers being deployed across the city.
Hindustan Times reported Deven Bharti, Joint commissioner of police, law and order as saying that not only were officers in all 93 police stations in the city asked to stay on the streets, they were also keeping a close watch on social media to prevent rumour mongering.
The protests were called off a day after violence had marked stated-wide protests in Maharashtra.
Arson and stone pelting by angry protesters was reported from across the state. They are demanding reservation for the Maratha community. The latest spur of protest was intensified by the suicide by a protester who jumped into a river in Aurangabad on Monday.
PTI reported that on Tuesday that vehicle were burnt and stones were pelted in some part even on Tuesday.
The report said that one constable died and nine others were injured in the protests on Tuesday that was most intense in the Aurangabad area.