The shutdown called by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Left parties in Bihar against the hike in petrol prices on Thursday impacted life across the state with sporadic violence reported from some areas, police said.
Hundreds of workers of the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forced shops and commercial establishments to close down in the state.
Protesters damaged a number of vehicles in state capital Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga to enforce the shutdown, a police official said.
A group of ruling NDA activists also ransacked the Mairwa railway station in Siwan district.
Protesters blocked railway tracks in Patna, Gaya, Darbhanga and Hajipur, disrupting train services. "The strikers have been forcibly stopping trains at various railway stations since morning," a railway official said.