Keonjhar:
One of the agitating truck owners of Keonjhar district in Odisha died yesterday after an 8-day hunger strike sparking tension and law and order problem in this district headquarters town.
Angry over the death of Prem Ranjan Behera (55), the agitators went on the rampage at the district collector's office and damaged his official vehicle, police said.
District Collector Balwant Singh said detailed information about the circumstances that led to the death of Behera was being collected.
Behera died at the government hospital in Ghasipura area before being shifted to SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack.
District truck owners association was on hunger strike near Collector's office since September 4 demanding permission to transport minerals through trucks instead of train.
"Behera's condition worsened last night and he was rushed to government hospital at Ghasipura.
However, he died before being shifted to Cuttack," one of the agitating truck owners said.
Sub-Divisional Medical Officer (SDMO), Bikram Moharana said Behera, a diabetic, was already gasping when he was taken to hospital and he died within a few minutes.
As the news spread, people gathered at the Collector's office and attacked the building. The agitators pelted stones at the colelctor's office and vehicles there.
Shops and business establishments were closed down as a large number of people poured on to the streets shouting anti-government slogans, police said.
The truck owners, who gheroed two state ministers on Tuesday, had been agitating since the state government put restriction on mineral transportation by trucks in the wake of the mining scam. Though government had earlier assured them to allow trucks to transport mineral, they were practically denied permission, the owners alleged.
About 10,000 trucks remained idle for a long time after the state government restricted movement of minerals through trucks, they said.