Policemen patrol the accident site in Durgapur. Picture by Gour Sharma

Durgapur, Nov. 3: A truck driver allegedly mowed down a cyclist while trying to speed past youths forcibly collecting Kali puja subscription on a road on the outskirts of Durgapur today, sparking a mob fury.

Local people said Tapan Bauri, 35, a mason, was cycling home to Durgapur town after visiting a friend in a nearby village when the speeding truck hit him from behind. “Tapan was thrown off his cycle and got crushed under the wheels of the truck,” said Ashis Ghosh, 45, an eyewitness.

“The youths had been stopping trucks since morning to collect chanda for Kali puja (on Friday),” he added.

Local residents chased the truck and stopped it 300 metres from the accident site at Jabbarpalli. However, the driver and the helper managed to escape. The mob broke the truck’s windshield.

Around 300 people blocked the Durgapur-Faridpur Road for over three hours, protesting “rash driving by truck drivers on the stretch to avoid paying puja subscription to local youths”.

Ghosh said the youths stopped trucks before Kali puja every year to collect subscription. “They target trucks carrying goods to the industrial complexes of Hetedoba and Ichhapur, about 5km from the accident spot,” said Ghosh, a hardware merchant.

Subol Majhi, a Jabbarpalli resident, said the youths “blame the truck drivers for damaging the Durgapur-Faridpur Road and force them to pay the money”.

The protesters claimed police arrived late, allowing the truck driver and the helper to escape.

“The accident spot is between Durgapur and Laudoha police stations. The officers of the stations pass the buck whenever we complain about rash driving on the stretch,” a protester said.

The protesters demanded that the road be widened. “The administration should have widened the road before setting up industries in the area,” another protester said. A team from the Durgapur police lines chased the mob away with batons.

Rebels kill trader

Suspected Maoists today shot dead a moneylender near Jhargram, 6km from the spot of the Jnaneswari Express sabotage. Bimal Das’s family said he was killed because he had failed to pay Rs 5 lakh to the Maoists. The police said the rebels had earlier accused Das, 45, of funding camps for armed CPM cadres.