Angry mob gheraoes police station; blocks busy road in Odisha capital

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Aug 12:

Tension ran high in front of the Kharvela Nagar police station here after angry relatives of Bhabagrahi Behera, who died in a road accident late on Monday night, blocked Janpath on both sides today demanding arrest of the car owner who had hit Behera and compensation to the deceased family.

Vehicular traffic on the busy Janpath was disrupted for one and a half hours as the protestors staged a road blockade placing the body of the deceased on the road.

According to police sources, Behera died on the spot while another person, Raja Swain (25) of Gandamunda, was grievously injured, after an unidentified car ran over them. Behera and Swain were on a bike when the accident happened near Unit-IV Masjid here late on Monday night.

Swain is undergoing treatment at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack where he was shifted after being initially taken to the Capital Hospital here. The duo was returning home after having dinner when the car coming from Nicco Park side towards Masjid hit them.

The agitators were removed from the road after Deputy Commisioner of Police Bhubaneswar Nitinjeet Singh, along with zonal ACP Pramod Rath, intervened.

Meanwhile, the family of the deceased was provided immediate help of Rs 10,000 from the Red Cross fund for conducting cremation of the deceased.

Police have arrested the car owner named Suman Das, a lawyer by profession, and have registered a case in the incident slapping charges under sections 279, 337, 338, 304 (A), 187 of IPC and under MV Act against Das.