The Shiv Sena on Monday claimed that it was their party activists beat up and drove away scores of candidates from northern region candidates who came for railway recruitment exams in Mumbai.

The party mouthpiece Saamna said that Shiv Sainiks were monitoring the movements of those who arrived in the metropolis throughout the night and beat the candidates.

Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray was quoted as saying that the Railway Board was not advertising jobs in local newspapers thus depriving Maharashtrians of an opportunity to apply for various posts.

An unapologetic MNS chief Raj Thackeray, addressing a function in Ahmednagar district last night, defended the anti-north Indians stir even as Railway minister Lalu Prasad described him as a "mental case".

Shiv Sena sources said the party's taking to street hooliganism was inevitable as the MNS was leaving.