Hundreds of inmates at a prison in Kolkata have gone on hunger strike after they were not allowed to watch Indian Premier League cricket matches, officials said on Monday.

B.D. Sharma, the inspector general of West Bengal prisons, said the protest began after guards rejected prisoners' demands to be able to watch the matches taking place in South Africa that are being broadcast on a private channel.

"They are free to watch the national channels aired by the state-run network, but we can't allow inmates to watch private channels for security reasons. We have to go by the rules," Sharma told AFP.