Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan has drawn considerable flak in the Himalayan kingdom for allegedly abandoning his first wife, leading to protests against him.

The failed actor, who became a successful singer in India, hails from Raj Biraj town of Saptari district in southern Nepal. The people of the town are now upset with their local boy and have begun a boycott of his songs.

The popular singer was caught in a raging controversy last week and has been accused of bigamy, a claim that he vehemently denies. Narayan was reportedly locked up last week in a hotel suite in Patna, Bihar by Ranjana Jha, a woman from Madhubani in Bihar, who claims to be his first wife.

According to Ranjana, Narayan had married her in a traditional ceremony in 1985.

However, when the singer moved to Mumbai to make his fortune, he was befriended by Deepa, a Nepali girl from Darjeeling. Narayan has maintained that Deepa is his only legal wife.

While the singer refuses to acknowledge Ranjana as his wife, people of Bhardaha, the village where he grew up, say he is lying. On Friday, scores of women led a march in Raj Biraj, raising angry slogans against the singer and his treatment of his "wife".

The Maithili Mahila Parishad, a socio-cultural women's organisation in Raj Biraj, said protests against Udit Narayan would continue till Ranjana received justice. Incidentally, Ranjana is the vice-president of the organisation.

Protesters also burnt an album of Udit Narayan's songs in Maithili language.

Regarded as a local hero, till the marriage controversy, Narayan's biography is included in the Maithili textbook for ninth graders. The protesters said they would ask the authorities in charge of the curriculum to revise the biography and mention Ranjana as his wife.