Bajrang Dal activists booked for protest against beauty contest

Bhubaneswar, Feb 8 (IANS) Dozens of Bajrang Dal activists were Monday booked for violent protests against a beauty contest to be held in Orissa's Berhampur town, police said.

The activists set posters on fire and damaged the stage at Berhampur in Ganjam district, nearly 180 km from here, Sunday night. The organisers then cancelled the pageant. The Bajrang Dal, however, denied its role in the violence.

'Miss Berhampur was scheduled to be held Sunday night and the violent protests took place just minutes before the show was to start. We cancelled it due to protests,' said Gulam Rasul, one of the organisers.

'They (organisers) did not lodge any complaint. Police registered a case on their own against dozens of people allegedly involved in the violence,' a district police official told IANS.

Ramakanta Rath, a Bajrang Dal leader, denied the Hindu right wing group's role in the violence and said tgheirs was a 'peaceful protest against vulgarity and obscenity'.