Bhubaneswar, Oct. 29: Tension erupted at Pandara Square on the city outskirts following the death of two persons in a road accident.

Local residents had blocked the National Highway 203 for nearly half an hour. Later, the mob set ablaze the mini truck, which hit the victim’s motorcycle from behind.

The deceased were identified as Sukadev Swain, 45, president of the Pandara Durga Puja Committee, and Mandera Behera, 60, who was riding pillion.

While Swain died on the spot, Behera succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital.

Following the accident, hundreds of local residents rushed to the national highway.

They put up a roadblock and set the truck afire. However, it has also been alleged that the local villagers had damaged a few other vehicles plying on the road.

Police arrested truck driver Harihar Pradhan.

The mob demanded deployment of traffic personnel at the junction along with a traffic post.

“This is a busy intersection. Most of the Puri-bound vehicles use this road. Besides, a number of villages are also located around Pandara Square. But, the police are yet to deploy traffic personnel here,” alleged local resident Jatadhari Prdhan.

The ongoing road expansion of the national highway has become a major concern for commuters.

On July 29, a truck rammed into four motorcycles at Rasulgarh Square leading to death of two persons.

“Earlier, we had taken a lot of measures to check road mishaps. Stop boards along with speed breakers would be used for controlling vehicles’ speed. We will also deploy traffic personnel at Pandara Square to regulate the traffic,” said assistant commissioner of police Binod Das.

Today’s incident came close on the heels of a road accident in Sambalpur three days ago, in which a mob had set on fire a scrap-laden truck along with its driver after he ran over a college student. Though fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused the flames, the driver was killed by then.

quick look

Spot: Pandara Square on new bypass road of NH-203
Casualty: Two. One dies on spot, another at hospital
Reaction: Mob puts up roadblock, sets truck on fire
Arrest: Truck driver