The car on Sachivalaya Marg. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, March 25: A 23-year-old youth received severe injuries in a road accident in front of the state secretariat on Sachivalay Marg here this evening.

The accident took place at a stone’s throw distance from the office of the assistant commissioner of police (traffic) and the AG Square, which has been declared as a zero-tolerance zone for traffic violation by the police.

Eyewitnesses said that a car driven by a woman hit a cyclist from behind. While the driver managed to escape, eyewitnesses managed to catch hold of his male companion and later handed him over to the police.

“The accident threw the cyclist off his cycle,” said an eyewitness.

The cyclist, Laka Singh, 23, a native of Pipili in Puri district, was rushed to Capital Hospital.

The police have detained the person who was accompanying the driver of the car.

In another incident near Ram Mandir Square, a car rammed into an autorickshaw parked on the roadside before hitting a student of BJB College.

The youth has been identified as Subodh Kumar Panda, a native of Berhampur in Ganjam district.

He is a second-year student of personnel management and industrial relations at BJB College.

The police said that Panda was going to teach a student when he was hit by the car. Panda suffered severe injuries and was rushed to Capital Hospital.

Tension gripped the spot following the accident. Hundreds of local residents ransacked the vehicle and the police had to be deployed to bring the situation under control.

“After he hit the youth, the car’s driver started abusing us. The way he behaved made us feel that he was in an inebriated condition,” said an eyewitness.

The police have seized the vehicle and have detained the driver. The police suspect that the driver of the car was heavily drunk.