Lucknow, Dec 17 (IANS) Hundreds of young men aspiring to join the Border Security Force (BSF) turned violent in Uttar Pradesh when they realized that no recruitment had been planned, police said Thursday.

Nearly 200 youths were booked for indulging in vandalism and arson in Akbarpur area of Ambedkar Nagar district, some 200 km from Lucknow, police inspector S.N. Gupta told reporters.

'The students were misinformed by some Hindi newspapers that carried false reports that BSF would hold its constable recruitment drive Dec 17 in Ambedkar Nagar,' Gupta said.

'The students started assembling at the Akbarpur grounds from Wednesday. They turned violent when they realised that no recruitment drive will take place.'

Many of them damaged buses and other vehicles and tried to set them on fire. The police used batons to make them disperse.