Six heavy vehicles were torched in Adityapur on Sunday night in one of the worst cases of arson in Jamshedpur's neighbourhood in recent times in a fiery follow-up to a fatal accident triggered by blatant disregard for road regulations.

A 25-year-old supplier of building construction materials, Deepak Mishra, was run over by a dumper around 10pm near Sher-e-Punjab Chowk on Tata-Kandra Road, an artery on which heavy vehicles are not officially allowed ever since the toll bridge was built, sparking mob fury that lasted for almost three hours.

Mishra, a resident of New Housing Colony in Hari Om Nagar of Adityapur, was returning home from Bistupur when the dumper hit his bike from behind just 3km from Jamshedpur. The youth succumbed to head injuries on the spot and the dumper managed to flee.

The news of bloodspill quickly spawned a 100-strong mob, which laid siege to Tata-Kandra Road from 11.30pm. The frenzied protesters, including Mishra's kin, stopped three trucks and an equal number of dumpers, and set them afire one after the other. They also pelted stones on other passing vehicles, damaging the windscreen of many. The rampage continued for two hours before police managed to control the situation.

Separate teams from Adityapur and Jamshedpur trooped to the arson site to quell the protest. A mild lathi-charge also became necessary to disperse the angry mob. Mishra's body was taken into police custody around 1.15am and sent to Tata Main Hospital for post-mortem.

Officer-in-charge of Adityapur police station Ajay Kumar, who was present on the spot, said two fire tenders had been pressed into service. 'It was an unfortunate incident. The mob went berserk after the accident. They also assaulted some policemen,' he said briefly.

Agitated residents, on the other hand, accused police of complacency.

'The Adityapur Toll Bridge was constructed with the objective to transfer the burden of heavy vehicles from Tata-Kandra Road. But, trucks and trailers violate the rule at will. They ply through the second Kharkai bridge to dodge toll tax. Commuters bear the brunt while police nap,' said Sudhir Choudhary, demanding strict imposition of the ban on movement of heavy vehicles on Tata-Kandra Road.

Om Prakash, a senior functionary of NGO Jan Kalyan Morcha, said they would launch an agitation to push for the demand. 'It is high time. The administration has remained a mute spectator while innocent lives have been lost to killer heavy vehicles. We will start an agitation to seek blanket ban on trucks and dumpers on the mishap-prone stretch,' he added.