Janakpur, February 23:

Irate locals today blocked the road and brought traffic to a halt at the Ramananda Chowk here for 10 hours as a mark of protest against the beating up of a patient in the zonal hospital.

The blockade was called off after the chief of the Janakpur Zonal Hospital, Dr Lakhan Shah, representatives of the victim, Jeeva Nath Chaudhari and Kaushal Kishor Shah, and police and administrative officers, agreed to take action on persons involved in the incident.

Dipendra Thakur, a resident of Janakpur-8, had gone to the hospital to have his ear ailment checked, but physician Chandra Kishor Shah and two police head constables beat him up for no reason last night.

Meanwhile, physicians closed the Out Patient department of the hospital following an emergency meeting this morning.

The service, however, resumed later after police intervened.

Superintendent of police at the Dhanusha Police Office, Hem Raj Malla, said he has warned Dr Shah against repeating such an incident .