Bhubaneswar, June 5: Traffic came to a standstill between Bhubaneswar and Puri on National Highway-203 for around four hours when a 1,500-strong mob torched three private buses following the death of an elderly couple in an accident near Hata Chhak in Pipili, 20 km from here.

The mob also manhandled police personnel and ransacked several buses. Bus services on Pipili-Jatni, Pipili-Nimapara and Pipili-Delang routes were also disrupted for several hours.

The police said the deceased - Hadu Khan, 70, and his wife Kuni Biwi, 63 - were travelling on a moped and were hit by a Puri-bound private bus around 9.30am. "The mishap took place when the bus was trying to overtake another vehicle and hit the couple. The couple died on the spot," said an eyewitness.

Following the incident, thousands of people gathered and set the killer bus afire. Later, they forced passengers to vacate two other Puri-bound private buses set those on fire as well. The protesters also manhandled a few passengers who did not want to get off the buses.

The mob pelted stones at the fire tender and did not allow it to douse the fire. They violent crowd also manhandled police personnel when they reached the spot to bring the situation under control.

Minutes later, the mob ransacked a few other buses and placed burning tyres on the road to block movement of vehicles. The violent protest cut-off Pipili from Jatni, Nimapara and Delang for several hours.

"The entire area became a smoke zone after the buses were set on fire. The explosion of the fuel tanks of the buses also created panic in the area. We were forced to remain stranded for several hours with no buses plying on the route," said Animesh Rout, a passenger.

The situation was brought under control with the help of the district administration and senior police officials.

"We held a discussion with the relatives of the deceased and Rs 20,000 will be provided to both the victims from the Red Cross fund. A case has been registered in connection with torching of the buses. We are trying to nab the culprits involved in it," said additional superintendent of police Jagannath Pradhan.

The State Private Bus Operators' Association has threatened to call off services on the Bhubaneswar-Puri route following the incident.

"The couple died in the accident and the driver of that bus was beaten up by the mob. They also torched two other buses, which did not have any connection with the incident. All this happened in the presence of the police. Besides, a few other buses were ransacked and passengers were also roughed up. In these circumstances, it is impossible to ply buses on the route. We demand that the police arrest the culprits immediately or private buses will not ply on the route," said general secretary of the association Debendra Sahu.

The association later decided to keep buses off the Puri-Cuttack and Puri-Bhubaneswar routes from tomorrow.

They have demanded adequate compensation for the buses gutted in the incident and immediate arrest of the culprits. Buses plying in Konark, Nimapara, Astarang and Kakatpur routes will also stay off the road till the demands are met.

The violent incident has left several areas of Pipili without electricity. Several electric poles in the violence-hit area has been damaged in the fire. Around 1,000 households in the area did not have electricity after the incident.