Mumbai: The Mumbai police on Tuesday gave a clean chit to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers in connection with the assault on north Indians in October.

Candidates, mostly from the northern states, were in the city to take the Railway Recruitment Board examination. And they were beaten up allegedly by MNS men at various centres.

"There was no case of physical assault or injury to any of the candidates", KL Prasad, joint commissioner of police (law and order), has said in his six-page written reply to the state Human Rights Commission. Prasad's reply is, however, restricted to the incidents at Borivili, Malad and Bhandup. He has not talked of the violence in Kalyan, Dombivili and Thane railway stations.

Farooq Ghosi, president of Samajwadi Party's youth wing, had complained to the commission that MNS workers attacked RRB exam centres in suburban Mumbai and chased away north Indian candidates on October 19. In response to the complaint, Prasad said, "It is not correct to say that Mumbai was burning after the assault on candidates appearing for the RRB exam. In fact, there is no case of physical assault or injury to any of the candidates."

Prasad said Lalji Yadav's death at Bhandup was because of heart attack. He said neither MNS chief Raj Thackeray nor his party workers were responsible for the killing Rahul Raj in a BEST bus. The assault on freelance journalist Dinanath Tiwari in Malad had nothing to do with the MNS agitation.

He said MNS workers did barge into examination centres at Kherwadi and threatened the candidates and tore the exam papers. But they did not assault anyone.

"Examinations were conducted at 34 centres. Threatening of the candidates by MNS members were reported from three centres. Three offences were registered and 32 MNS workers, including Raj Thackeray, were arrested," Prasad said in his reply. Apart from Prasad, railway police and Thanes deputy commissioner of police (Zone III) too filed their replies. But Dattatray Karale, DCP, Thane (Zone III), said he had not given a clean chit to MNS workers for violence at the Kalyan station.

Source : Central