Lucknow:
Protests by the BJP against the poor state of law and order in Uttar Pradesh turned unruly and chaotic as the party's youth activists clashed with the police in Lucknow.
Policemen in riot gear used batons, water cannons and teargas shells to try and disperse scores of protesters who tried to break through barricades put up outside the UP assembly building. The activists, many of them wearing saffron scarves and turbans, climbed on to the barricade before being chased away.
An NDTV vehicle was damaged and its windows smashed during the clashes. The road was The road was littered with stones and broken glass.
The BJP has been targeting the Akhilesh Yadav government over a series of rapes and killings in UP last month. Opposition protests in the state assembly have repeatedly disrupted legislative business.
Rising crime in the state came in the international media glare after the rape and murder of two girls in Badaun last month. The girls, who were cousins, were beaten and hanged alive. Villagers prevented police from taking the dangling bodies down from a mango tree until the local media had captured them on film.