Patna, July 11 (IANS): Several trains were halted and traffic was blocked in Bihar on Saturday because of a shutdown called by Jan Adhikar Party chief Pappu Yadav over the death of a youth.

"Protesters blocked railway tracks in Madhepura, Ara, Bhagalpur and Jehanabad, disrupting train services. The strikers forcibly stopped trains at various railway stations since morning," a railway official said.

Expelled RJD MP Yadav took to the streets in Patna where he alongwith his supporters
blocked busy roads and asked shopkeepers to close their shops.

The shutdown because of which hundreds of passengers were stranded at some railway stations and bus stands was supported by former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's party
Hindustani Awam Morcha.

Police officers here said hundreds of workers of the Yadav's party forced shops and commercial establishments to close down for the day in the state. Protesters damaged a number of vehicles in Patna, Madhepura, Saharsa, Muzaffarpur and Supaul.

Shyam Narayan Bhardwaj, 21, alias Siku Raj died in a private nursing home on Wednesday after he was thrashed allegedly by BSF personnel and Kishanganj police a week ago.