Patna: Unidentified armed criminals shot dead a 35-year-old Mukesh Kumar employed at the toll plaza on the Hajipur-Muzaffarpur road near Sarai in Vaishali district on Saturday, triggering violent protest by the youth's relatives and the residents.

The incident took place around 5.30pm when a red luxury car bearing registration number BR02AD-2561 reached the toll plaza at Saidpur Patedha village on National Highway 77, under the jurisdiction of Sarai police station, and attempted to pass through the VIP gate.

When Mukesh, on duty, tried to intercept the car, one of the occupants of the car alighted and indulged in a heated argument. As Mukesh was adamant on realising tax from the occupants of the car, a man in his early 30s pumped a bullet into his chest and fled towards Hajipur.

Mukesh died on the spot. Employees of the toll plaza boycotted work in protest against the incident. This led to a long queue of vehicles getting stranded on both flanks of the national highway, which connects Muzaffarpur with Hajipur and Patna.

Mukesh Kumar has been identified as a resident of Sarai village in Vaishali district. Residents said his relatives disrupted traffic by placing his body in the middle of the busy road. The protesters smashed windowpanes of over a dozen vehicles.

The police had a tough time dealing with the situation. Senior police officials including superintendent of police Manavjeet Singh Dhillon and Hajipur additional superintendent of police Ajay Kumar rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the unruly mob. However, the traffic jam was continuing till the time of filing the report (9.10pm).

Police sources said the relatives later escaped with Mukesh's body without post-mortem.

"Efforts are on to trace the body. The law and order problem has made the issue more complex. Instead of tracing the assailants we are busy in dealing with the law and order issue," the station house officer of Sarai police station, Raman Kumar, said.

The police have obtained video clips of an altercation between the occupant of the car and the employee on duty. The incident comes on the day when the RJD had given a call for Muzaffarpur bandh on Saturday to protest against rising incidents of crime in the district in particular and in the state in general.