A vegetable trader, who was gored in a bullfight in crowded Sakchi market late on Saturday evening, died around midnight at Tata Main Hospital.

The shocking death of 30-year-old Mantu Kumar Gupta, who innocently came in the way of two bulls fighting, underlines the bovine menace at one of Jamshedpur's most crowded marketplaces.

Gupta, who lived in North Layout in Sonari, is survived by his young wife and two children, the youngest two months old. Police sent his body to MGM Medical College for autopsy on Sunday.

Around 8.30pm on Saturday evening, Gupta, who was on his bike coming out of his vegetable godown in Sakchi, was hit by one of the two fighting bulls. As he fell off his bike on the ground, another one stamped on him and gored him with its horns, causing the man's abdomen to rupture.

Vendors and bystanders tried to drive away the enraged bulls and rescue Gupta but for some five minutes the animals stayed put.

"One bull hit him when he was seated on his bike, another one attacked him on the ground. We tried to drive away the bulls and shouted at them but they did not budge," said Rohit Mahto, a Sakchi shopkeeper. "Finally, many people gathered with sticks and drove the bulls away so that the man could be picked up and taken to the hospital. We realised he was seriously hurt."

Rescue was quick under the circumstances because by the time the police came, in around 15 minutes from the mishap, the victim had been rushed to the hospital. However, in the span of three hours, Gupta succumbed to his injuries.

There are over half-a-dozen bulls roaming at Sakchi market all the time, sometimes indulging in fights among themselves, said shopkeepers at Sakchi market on Sunday, who are still in shock over Gupta's death.

"Even during busy hours in the morning and evening, these bulls move about like lords. They wander either in the vegetable market or on adjoining Straight Mile Road. When a bull comes near my shop, I shoo it away and throw water at it. They pose a definite danger to shopkeepers and customers alike," said Basant Singh, owner of a stationery shop at Sakchi.

Sakchi thana officer-in-charge Anjani Kumar Tiwary said they were aware of the bull attack. "We will ensure that stray bulls are kept away from the busy marketplace," the OC said.

How can stray animals be kept out of busy marketplaces?

Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com