With road accidents claiming the lives of three persons within a fortnight, Birati witnessed a clash between policemen and a mob on Wednesday, soon after a truck crushed a 45-year-old woman under its wheels around 1 pm.

Five policemen were left injured and the truck set ablaze in the aftermath.

Witnesses said the unidentified woman was crossing the road when the truck, which was speeding along Jessore Road towards the airport, knocked her down at the crossing of MB Road and Birati.

?From a distance, it seemed that she would manage to get across the road in time. But the next minute, we could make out that the driver had lost control of the vehicle,? said Subol Saha, a local resident. The driver fled, leaving the vehicle behind.

A team from Airport police station rushed to the spot, but was greeted by an angry mob.

The police jeep was pelted with stones and the officers were told to go back. Five policemen were injured in the attack and were later taken to a hospital.

?We won?t let you take her body away, until you do something about the increasing number of accidents here,? yelled one of the protesters.

Wednesday?s mishap was the third in a fortnight in the area.?Ever since MB Road has been widened, vehicular traffic has increased significantly and so has the speed. But no one is bothered about hearing us out,? added Saha.

A few protesters torched the stranded truck. With the situation spinning out of control, a large police contingent was summoned. Senior police officers then requested the mob to vacate the area, but the frenzied mob paid no heed.

A lathicharge dispersed the crowd in the next few minutes.

Normal traffic resumed in the area around 3 pm. A large picket was, however, posted as a precautionary measure.

?In view of the rise in the number of accidents in the area, we have decided to put up signboards and deploy more men to tackle rash and negligent driving,? said Praveen Kumar, superintendent of police (North 24-Parganas).