Bhubaneswar, June 5: Local people of Koradakanta, 18km from here, today set a vehicle on fire on the Cuttack-Puri bypass road near Sai Temple Square after it hit a scooty, killing its rider Muralidhar Jena, 61, on the spot.

Dhaneswar Patnaik, 41, who was riding pillion, suffered serious injuries in the accident and was admitted to Capital Hospital.

The deceased is a small businessman, who stayed at Koradakanta.

The accident took place around 12.05pm when a Tavera hit the scooty. An eyewitness said the two-wheeler was taking a U-turn when the car, which was coming from the Puri end, collided with it.

"The impact of the collision was so severe that the scooty was dragged a few metres away. However, we immediately rushed to the spot and called up the police control room," said an eyewitness. Besides, the villagers also called up the ambulance service to take the injured person to hospital.

The driver, who was alone in the Tavera, managed to escape from the accident spot.

Acting on the tip-off, the police took around 20 minutes to reach the spot. However, by then, the angry villagers had set the vehicle on fire.

"The mob set the car on fire. We have seized it and sent the deceased's body for post-mortem. Efforts are on to arrest the driver of the four-wheeler," said inspector in charge of Saheed Nagar police station Deepak Kumar Mishra.

As Jena belonged to the area, the passers-by could identify him and immediately informed his family members about the accident. Jena's younger brother Ramesh rushed to the spot. Later, Ramesh refuted the allegation that the mob had set the vehicle on fire.

Ramesh said the Tavera caught fire in the accident. "My brother was returning home after visiting the Sai temple when the mishap took place. The local people did not set the vehicle on fire. The car caught fire in the collision," said Ramesh.

Local residents alleged that Sai Temple Square had turned almost into a death trap as nearly a dozen people had been killed in road mishaps in this area in the recent past.

In January, the villagers torched a mini-truck after a youth had been killed in an accident near the intersection. The deceased, Karunakar Guru, 22, a resident of Gandilo village within the Balianta police station jurisdiction, had died on the spot after the truck had a head-on collision with the motorcycle he was travelling on.

"The intersection has become a nightmare for commuters with vehicles coming from four directions. Though we have been demanding more traffic police personnel at the square for quite a long, there is only one cop present at the intersection and managing the vehicular movement. Thousands of vehicles pass through this busy place every day," said local resident Sarbeswar Naik.

The police said they would ask the authorities to construct speed-breakers on the road. "Besides, we will also install stop-boards to curb the speed of vehicles," said a police official.