A 13-year-old schoolboy was crushed to death by a truck on Kashiram Das Road here on Tuesday morning when he was cycling to the market to buy sweets and flowers for Janmashtami puja, the accident spurring residents to set the vehicle on fire.

Subhrajyoti Mandal, a Class VII student and resident of Sreenagar Pally in the town’s Benachity, had come to his maternal uncle’s home in Durgapur Steel Plant township on Monday for the festival. The truck with stone chips hit the boy around 9am on Tuesday and its wheels dragged him for at least 20 feet.

Subhrajyoti was declared brought dead at the Durgapur Steel Plant hospital.

As news spread, a mob set the truck on fire before the police arrived. The driver fled.

Protesters blocked the road to demand compensation for the deceased’s family members and refused to budge till the police promised to deploy traffic policemen in the area to rein in reckless heavy vehicles on the narrow road. A hunt for the driver is on.