Fire brigade personnel spray water to douse flames of a burnt tyre (not in picture) after an accident at Kharavela Nagar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 6: Tension gripped Kharavela Nagar following the death of a 56-year-old man in a road accident today.

The mishap took place around 7.30am when the deceased, Natabar, was on his way to Laxmisagar with his two sons — Sunil and Anil — on a motorcycle. Sunil was going for an interview.

A small goods vehicle hit their two-wheeler and dragged Natabar for 50 metres after the three fell down near a mall in Kharavela Nagar.

All three were rushed to Capital Hospital. Natabar and Sunil were later referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Sources said Natabar, who had suffered severe head injuries, died in Cuttack this afternoon.

Police said the family lived at PHD Colony in Satya Nagar. “Natabar was a fourth-class government employee,” said a police official.

When the local residents got to know about the accident, hundreds of people blocked the road demanding construction of speed breakers in front of the mall. They blamed unauthorised parking at the site for accidents in the area. “Encroachment on both sides of the road, coupled with illegal parking, have made the road narrow leading to accidents,” said Pradeep Sahu, a protester.

Protesters had set tyres on fire to block the road. Panic gripped mall visitors when a protester threw burning tyres into the shopping facility. The incident forced mall authorities to down shutters.

“Though the accident claimed a life, the protester did not have any right to throw burning tyres into the mall. Luckily, no one was injured,” said a mall employee.

The agitation ended after police intervened. “We will look into the demand to install speed-breakers,” said assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Binod Dash. The errant driver has been arrested.