Bhubaneswar, Sept. 21: Police today arrested eight Ayush doctors on charges of disrupting work of National Health Mission's office here.

Hundreds of Ayush doctors have been on a protest since Monday to demand regular appointments and salary on par with central government employees.

The arrest follows the detention of around 50 doctors by Nayapalli police after they tried to barge into the mission's office and ransack property.

The police said the accused were arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, inclu-ding 448 (punishment for house trespass),186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement).

The cops claimed that despite warnings to not disrupt work at the office, the agitators continued to interrupt official work.

The Ayush doctors have been demanding allocation of central payscale to more than 1,200 doctors who have completed 10 years at primary and community health centres in the state.

'We have been demonstrating peacefully and never tried to disrupt official work. But the police used force and initially detained us. Later, they arrested eight doctors. We will intensify our agitation against the arrest,' said Ayush Doctors' Association president Jyoti Ranjan Gahan.

Man in flames

Panic struck at Udaygiri after a man was spotted in flames on the hills under Khandagiri police limits this afternoon. The man, in his 30s and yet to be identified, later succumbed to his injuries at Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar.

Witnesses said the man ran for around 50m, engulfed in flames.

'He came out from an isolated area of the hills and started running. His entire body had caught fire and it was not possible for us to rescue him. Later, some local residents put a blanket on him and called the 108 ambulance,' said a witness.

Police said the man had suffered 85 per cent burns.

'A case has been registered and we are trying to identify him. Though prima facie, it appears to be a case of suicide, we are also probing the possibility of murder,' said inspector in charge of Khandagiri police station Himanshu Bhusan Swain.