Bhubaneswar, April 20: A police vehicle ran over a 30-year-old schoolteacher near Tankapani Road in the city this morning.

The incident took place when the deceased, Pramod Kumar Das, was on his way to his institute at Satyabhamapur on the city outskirts.

Eyewitnesses said the deceased was riding his motorcycle when the police van carrying around 30 officials rammed into him from behind.

The cops were on their way to Gadakantunia, where preparations are on to transport the " daru" (log) for Lord Sudarshan.

"As soon as the four-wheeler hit the motorcycle, he was flung onto the road and the vehicle mowed him down," said Saroj Paikray, an eyewitness.

The deceased, a native of Bhadrak district, taught English in a private school.

Commuters said the police officials, along with the driver, remained a mute spectator and did not even come out of the vehicle to help the victim for nearly 10 minutes.

Later, hundreds of locals gathered at the spot and broke the glass of the jeep forcing the police officials to come out of the vehicle.

The victim was taken to the Capital Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Tension gripped the area after locals tried to manhandle the driver. They even staged a blockade demanding adequate compensation for the deceased's family and immediate arrest of the driver.

Local residents said that the driver, Rankanidhi Barik, 58, was drunk when the mishap took place.

"Though we demanded that the police use breathe analyzer to find out whether he was drunk, the cops took him away," said Sankar Sahu, a resident.

It took the intervention of senior police officials to ease tension. "Barik was arrested and a medical test was conducted to find out whether he was drunk. The report was negative," said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

Sources said Barik was working as a driver with the police for more than 30 years.

Residents also demanded traffic police in the area. "The area has become accident prone. A number of mishaps have taken place in the recent past. The authorities should streamline the traffic movement by deploying police," said Saroj Pradhan, a resident.