Bhubaneswar, July 10: A strike called by the BJP in protest against the alleged heckling of former India hockey player Prabodh Tirkey during the Asian Athletics Championship in Bhubaneswar paralysed daily life at the Balishankara block of Sundargarh district today.

Balishankara had remained cut-off from the rest of the area by road for four hours.

Tirkey yesterday claimed that a traffic cop had misbehaved with him. He had alleged that the driver of a VIP vehicle first entered into an argument with him at the Jayadev Vihar traffic junction. Despite bringing the matter to the notice of the nearby traffic police personnel, the cop allegedly let the VIP vehicle pass and heckled him by making him park his car on the road.

"I felt embarrassed when the security personnel misbehaved with me in full view of the public despite being aware of my identity," he had said.

Yesterday, BJP Yuva Morcha activists staged a protest at Master Canteen Square in the city and demanded immediate action against the erring cop responsible for the incident. Party activists had also burnt the effigy of chief minister Naveen Patnaik in Sundargarh, the home district of the former India captain. They called for the strike today at Balishankara, where from Tirkey hails.

According to reports, the strike was total and peaceful. It reportedly united local residents, who protested against the heckling of Tirkey. All business establishments, banks and other offices remained closed in the small block headquarters town. There were no reports of any untoward incidents during the strike.

"Our hero has been heckled and every one in Sundargarh district, the nursery of hockey, should protest against this atrocity," said local resident Sunil Pradhan.

Former India player Peter Tirkey said: "The culprit must be caught and punished."

Prabodh's teammate, former India captain and BJD MP Dillip Tirkey, said: "I have heard about the incident but failed to understand why the inspector misbehaved despite Prabodh introducing himself."

"This was not the way to behave with an international star and captain. The officer should apologise to him," he said. He also promised to take up the matter with sports minister Chandrasarathi Behera.