SAMBALPUR: A day after a 14-year-old minor died after being hit by a bus near Modipara Chowk in the city, tension continued to prevail as the residents of the locality kept the body on the road to stage a protest on Thursday morning.
Around 10 am on the day, a few family members of the deceased, identified as Dishant Naik of Ambedkar Nagar in the city, along with the residents of the locality staged a road blockade between Modipara Chowk and Kunjelpara Chowk after receiving the dead body following postmortem. The agitators demanded compensation of Rs 50 lakhs to the family of the deceased before releasing the people detained on Wednesday evening for their alleged involvement in the ruckus following the accident.
On getting information, police rushed to the spot and held a discussion with the agitators. While the agitation continued for more than six hours, it was called off at 4:30pm after getting assurance from the police.
An agitator said, at least 12 people have been detained by the police following the accident on Wednesday. Some of them include the family members of the deceased who are required to be present here for his cremation. “We want police to release them immediately and not harass them in future. Moreover, we demand compensation for the family of the boy and strict action against the bus driver,” he further stated.
SDPO, PK Sahu was not available for comment on the issue. However, official sources informed that the driver of the bus has been arrested and an inquiry is underway to ascertain how the bus entered the town through the no-entry zone.
On Wednesday evening, the deceased was going towards Laxmi Talkies Chowk on a two-wheeler, when the tourist bus which entered the town through Kunjelpada Chowk, hit him leading to his death. Subsequently, the nearby people turned hostile and first stopped the bus by pelting stones and later vandalised it.
Later, the mob blocked the road at Modipara Chowk and then moved to the Laxmi Talkies chowk. Later they also gheraoed the Town police station. Eventually, police had to resort to mild lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.