Patna: Members of a family who were going to catch a train from Patna Sahib station were beaten up by bandh supporters near Chowk area of Patna City on Thursday morning.

Roshan Soni, his mother, sister and uncle were going to catch a Munger-bound train.

"Around 50 bandh supporters carrying party flags stopped our auto," Roshan said.

"They ignored our plea that we were going to the station as it was it an emergency. A man hit me on my face with a bamboo stick."

The family members were rescued by a police patrolling team passing through the area.

The Sonis later lodged a police complaint, and sources said the cops had detained two persons but later they were allowed to go.

The bandh against crimes against women in Bihar in general and the Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes in general, called by Left parties and supported by Opposition parties including the RJD and Congress, evoked mixed reaction.

Police detained 598 persons across Bihar, with the maximum (328) detentions in Saran district, followed by Madhubani where 210 persons were held.

S.K. Singhal, ADG (police headquarters) ,said: "Apart from a few stray incidents no major incidents were reported from any part of the state."

Rail traffic was disrupted in several districts including West Champaran, Sheikhpura, Darbhanga and Jehanabad while movement of vehicles was affected on national highways passing through Khagaria, Kishanganj, Vaishali and Begusarai.

In Samastipur, local RJD MLA Akhtarul Islam Shahin led the protests. However, districts like Munger and Sitamarhi did not see much impact of the shutdown.

There were reports of traffic snarls sparked by road blockades in Siwan, and in Masaurhi of Patna district.

The maximum impact was felt in Bhojpur , with district headquarters town Ara crippled. Almost all schools, business establishments, petrol pumps, cinema halls and shops remained shut.

CPI(ML) MLA Sudama Prasad said the state government was patronising criminals while the central government creates communal discord.

In Muzaffarpur, CPI(ML) workers staged a protest in front of the residence of Brajesh Thakur, patron of the state-funded NGO that was running the girl shelter home at the centre of the sexual assault horror. Thakur has been arrested in connection with the scandal.

After the Left activists left the place, a group of RJD workers were seen moving towards Thakur's residence but they were stopped by police.