A 49-year old motorcyclist, identified as Ajayan of Assarisserril Kizhakkethil house, Poozhikkad near Pandalam, was killed on the spot when a speeding tipper lorry rammed into his motorcycle at Poozhikkad Palavilayil junction near Pandalam on Saturday afternoon.
Four policemen reached the spot in the next 20 minutes. The irate local people who assembled at the accident spot attacked the lorry. The body of the accident victim was removed from the road in an ambulance after half-an-hour.
The irate mob set the lorry on fire before the Fire and Rescue Force put it out in the next 30 minutes.
The violent mob stopped the Fire and Rescue Force and assaulted Abdul Jabbar, news photographer of ‘ Thejus ’, a daily, and detained a few reporters, protesting against the official indifference towards over-speeding of tipper lorries posing a threat to pedestrians as well as to two-wheeler riders and other motorists.
Additional police force rushed to the spot and the situation was brought under control, later.
Police party from the Armed Reserve Camp in Pathanamthitta have also been deployed at the mishap site, the police said.
The lorry and cleaner fled the scene immediately after the accident and the police have registered a case against them as well as the Mavelikkara-based lorry owner.
According to Circle Inspector of Police, Jayaraj, the police have registered three cases in connection with the accident and the untoward incidents that followed.
An eyewitness account alleged that over-speeding of the lorry led to the road mishap. Road accidents involving tipper lorries have become common in different parts of the district.
There were also allegations of negligence on the part of the police as well as the Motor Vehicles Department to check traffic rule violations by tipper lorry drivers posing threat to human life and property in the district.
