An activist was arrested in Assam on Saturday for allegedly insulting Hindu gods after he acted in a street play that showed Lord Shiva complaining to Goddess Parvati about rising prices and joblessness.

Activist Birinchi Bora was released on Sunday morning after Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma disapproved of the arrest, saying that staging a street play on current issues was not blasphemous and that Nagaon district police had been given an “appropriate order”.

The street play enacted an argument between Shiva (Bora) and Parvati, played by an unidentified woman, that broke out after their motorcycle ran out of petrol, a police officer said on Sunday.

Nagaon superintendent of police Leena Doley said Bora had been arrested under bailable sections following complaints from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal.

“We arrested him for hurting religious sentiments, showing disrespect towards women, attempting to create disharmony among communities and also under the Motor Vehicles Act for not wearing shoes and helmet during the play on the road,” Doley said. “As the sections were bailable, he was released on Sunday morning.”

Doley said the woman who played Parvati could not be traced but another person associated with the play, Dulal Bora, had been asked to appear at Nagaon police station.

Birinchi Bora and his associates had performed the street play on Saturday afternoon.

In the play, Birinchi Bora as Shiva slammed the government for the unabated rise in prices of essentials, including fuel. He highlighted the unemployment crisis and reminded his audience of the government’s unfulfilled job promises.

The district units of the Bajrang Dal and the VHP lodged separate FIRs with Nagaon police station, alleging the play had “hurt the dignity of the Hindu gods”.

The police immediately picked up Birinchi Bora, and later arrested him.