Indian Group Raids McDonald's

NEW DELHI, India (AP) - Hindu activists charged into a McDonald's restaurant in a Bombay suburb Friday, smashing furniture and lights to protest the use of beef flavoring in the chain's French fries in the United States.

Restaurant customers fled as members of the Bajrang Dal raided the restaurant in Thane, but there were no reports of injuries, police said. In southern Bombay, another McDonald's was surrounded by demonstrators from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, who shouted slogans and smeared cow dung.

McDonald's says it does not use any animal extracts in its French fries in India, where the cow is considered sacred by most Hindus. But it confirmed it uses some beef flavoring, though not beef fat, in its American fries.

The Shiv Sena, another Hindu group, said it would protest outside the corporate office of McDonald's in India on Saturday.

The protests were touched off by front-page newspaper reports about a lawsuit filed in Seattle on Tuesday.

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