Bigg Boss: Angry activists attack channel office

The sixth edition of Bigg Boss had its first brush with controversy on Thursday as suspected Republican Party of India activists attacked the office of Colors TV channel in Mumbai over demands to eliminate contestant Aseem Trivedi from the reality show.

The Ramdas Athavale-led RPI had objected to Trivedi's participation, saying the cartoonist had "hurt the sentiments" of the Dalit community with his cartoons that had "grossly insulted" the national emblem and other constitutional symbols.

The 25-year-old cartoonist, sedition charges against whom were dropped by the Maharashtra government recently after his arrest, debuted on TV in the sixth season of the popular show.

Two people, suspected to be RPI activists, came on a motorcycle. One of them pelted stones at the TV channel's office on Thursday afternoon, Deputy Police Commissioner Namdev Chavan said.

Police suspect that the accused wanted to damage the property of the channel as it did not pay heed to their party's demand to evict Trivedi.

Trivedi is nominated for elimination this week, alongwith Gulab Gang leader Sampat Pal and hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani.

Model Karishma Kotak was also nominated, but she had to leave the show after her father's demise. On Wednesday evening, she was informed about her father's health and given an option of either staying or leaving the house.

"Bigg Boss Season 6 contestant Karishma Kotak left the Bigg Boss house after nearly four weeks due to a family emergency. The model had to leave the Bigg Boss house as her father, who was ailing from severe liver sclerosis, passed away on Wednesday evening," a statement issued by Colors said.

Karishma isn't the only contestant who has had to exit the show due to personal reasons -- British celebrity Jade Goody had to exit the second season abruptly after she was diagnosed with cancer and actress Shamita Shetty had sought permisson to leave Bigg Boss 3 in order to attend her sister's wedding.

This season, which began airing from October 7, has had a smooth run so far barring a few brawls among contestants. Failure at a task caused the water supply to the house to be stopped for a day, causing discomfort to the housemates.

Former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu became the first contestant to enter the panic room, which is the replacement for the jail that is usually used to punish those who either break Bigg Boss's rules or fail at a task.

The room has walls that appear to close in onto the housemate causing panic and fear. Other forms of punishment inside the room include freezing the housemate till minus 5 degrees approximately or restraining him/her in a straitjacket that will not allow any arm movement.