Mumbai, Oct 19: Activists of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Sunday attacked 13 railway board examination centres in suburban Mumbai protesting "inadequate representation" to locals and chased away candidates from north India.
About 10 MNS activists have been arrested from central suburban Dombivali and Kalyan so far for disrupting the exam and preventing candidates from appearing the examination, police said.
"We have arrested 10 MNS activists so far from Dombivali and Kalyan under the charges of rioting at the examination centres," Thane Commissioner of Police Anil Dhere told reporters.
When asked about the candidates being attacked at Thane station in wee hours, Dhere denied the reports. Railway officials confirmed that there was no such incident at Thane station, he said.
Confirming the attack by MNS activists on the examination centres in Mumbai, central railway PRO S Sharma said "We have reports of 13 centres mostly in Dombivali and Navi Mumbai been attacked."
"Attackers even tried to tear exam papers and hall tickets of some of the candidates at Nerul in Navi Mumbai," Sharma said.
Despite the disruption the exam was conducted at total 82 centres in Mumbai with the help of local police, he added.
Defending attacks on North Indians, MNS leader Shishir Shinde told PTI "what is wrong if activists were protesting against the 'inadequate representation' of Marathi candidates in the exam."
"Railway officer should understand the meaning of our protest and allow more Marathi candidates for the examination than the outsiders," Shinde said. "MNS activists would meet railway officials soon", he added.
In November 2003 Raj Thackeray's supporters (then with the Shiv Sena) disrupted a Railway Board exam in suburban Kalyan by preventing candidates from other states, mainly north Indians, from appearing the exam.
Bureau Report