New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Tear gas shells and water cannons were used to disperse around 300 Youth Congress activists protesting outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office here Wednesday, police said.

The protestors alleged that some male and female leaders of the BJP Yuva Morcha (youth wing) had organized a camp on the banks of the river Ganga in Rishikesh in Uttrakhand Feb 28 and cooked non-vegetarian food and consumed alcohol.

"They did not maintain the dignity of that holy place and that is why we are protesting here," a Youth Congress worker said.

A police official said: "The crowd assembled outside the office at around 2 p.m. and started raising slogans. They were trying to enter the office to confront the BJP workers inside."

According to police, the crowd had forcefully crossed the outer barricade and was trying to cross the inner cordon.

"We used water cannons and lobbed tear gas shells which dispersed the crowd. Nobody has been detained," added the police official.

However, some onlookers alleged that the police behaved irresponsibly and indiscriminately lobbed tear gas shells on the main road.

"I was stuck in the jam caused by the protestors near Ashok Road when out of nowhere a fired tear gas shell fell near me. I had to get off my vehicle and run from that spot," said Deepali Jain, a banker.