Nimapara: Traffic came to a grinding halt on the state highway near Gada Andia village here as locals blocked the road for three hours protesting death of a farmer in a mishap.
The incident happened at 7.30am when Pravakar Paital, a resident of Kuansa here, was pedalling down to the local market to sell vegetables. “A brick-laden truck (OR-23-3951) rammed Pravakar’s bicycle from the rear leading to his death,” an eyewitness said.
Onlookers rushed a profusely bleeding Pravakar to a nearby healthcare facility where the doctors pronounced him ‘dead on arrival’.
Within minutes, hundreds of Kuansa villagers assembled and staged a road blockade near the police station demanding a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased.
The road blockade, however, was removed at around 11am after tehsildar Kamaljit Das, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Sarat Mishra, Nimapara inspector in-charge (IIC) Haramohan Nayak reached the spot and placated the agitators.
The tehsildar handed over Rs 10,000 to the victim’s family apart from assuring Rs 20,000 assistance to the next kin of the deceased under National Family Welfare Scheme, sources familiar with the victim’s family said.
Later in the day, Nimapara MLA Samir Ranjan Das provided an assistance of Rs 10,000 to the victim’s family, while the owner of the errant truck also gave away Rs 20,000 to the bereaved family.
Meanwhile, police seized the truck and claimed to have launched a manhunt to nab the driver who is on the run.
On the other hand, Pravakar’s son, Ratikant, lodged a complaint with the police which registered a case (53/19) and began investigations. Pravakar body has been sent to Chari Chhak hospital for an autopsy, a senior official of Nimapara police said.