Patna: Two motorbike-borne criminals allegedly shot dead a drug trader at Jandaha in Vaishali district on Friday night, triggering protests by businessmen and local residents on Saturday morning.

The police said two persons riding a motorbike attacked Anil Thakur, 45, when he was about to leave for home after closing down his medical store at Guru Chowk in Jandaha Bazaar, around 35km east of Hajipur, the district headquarters of Vaishali, on Friday.

Anil, son of former deputy pramukh of Sahdei Bujurg block in Vaishali district, was immediately taken to a government-run primary health centre where the doctor declared him "brought dead." Thakur's relatives told police Anil had been threatened with dire consequences for failing to pay Rs 50 lakh as extortion money about three months ago.

As news about Anil's death reached the block headquarters town, businessmen and residents came out on the streets, put up road blockades at Janadaha and paralysed vehicle movement. The protesters also pelted the police with stones when they forcibly tried to remove the road blockade and restore traffic on the busy road.

A section of protestors deflated tyres of vehicle and thrashed drivers. They also shouted slogans against the police and demanded stern disciplinary action against police officials for their failure to contain such incidents of crime.

The situation at Jandaha, around 55km northeast of Patna, however, was brought under control after the intervention of senior police officials who promised to bring the culprits to book at the earliest. The police from nearby police stations were summoned to Jandaha to assist in restoring normalcy in the town. But nobody was arrested.

A close relative of the dead said two auxiliary police (SAP) constables were earlier provided to Anil following the threat. But the district police withdrew the personnel a few weeks ago. Family members blamed the police for the trader's death.

"Anil had informed the police about threat to his life. But the police didn't pay heed to his repeated pleas," one of his kin alleged. Vaishali superintendent of police (SP) Rakesh Kumar said Anil's security was withdrawn for deployment during panchayat election-related work last year. "Instructions have been issued to investigate the case from all angles," the SP said and described the incident as "unfortunate."