PRAYAGRAJ, June 21 -- A 48-year-old fruit vendor was killed in a hit-and-run accident after being run over by a dumper near Rampur Kathouli village in the Meja area in the early hours of Saturday. The victim suffered severe injuries and died on the spot, police said. The deceased was identified as Tej Bahadur Patel, a resident of Bandhwa village under the Meja police station area. He earned his livelihood by selling fruits at Patel Nagar crossing after purchasing stock from the wholesale fruit market at Meja Road. According to police, Patel was on his way to the New Mandi at Meja Road with his handcart at around 4 am when a speeding dumper hit him near Rampur Kathouli village on the Meja Road-Kohdar route, about a kilometre from his home. The driver fled the scene after the accident. The incident shocked local residents and drew a large crowd, including the victim's family members, to the spot near RBS Cold Storage. Angry over the incident, family members and villagers blocked the road and demanded compensation before allowing the body to be sent for post-mortem examination. After receiving information, Hariom Singh, in-charge of the Meja Road police outpost, reached the spot with police personnel and launched a search for the vehicle involved. Police also examined CCTV footage from nearby areas, but the dumper could not be identified. The protesters demanded that local crusher plant operators provide financial assistance of at least Rs.2 lakh to the bereaved family before the cremation. ACP (Meja) Sant Prasad Upadhyay later reached the spot and held discussions with the family to ease tensions. Acting on the directions of the SDM (Meja), Naib Tehsildar Nandlal also met the family and assured them that benefits under the Parivarik Labh Yojana and other eligible government schemes, including agricultural insurance-related assistance, would be provided after the post-mortem. Following the assurances, the family ended the road blockade and allowed normal traffic to resume. Police have registered a case against an unidentified dumper driver on a complaint lodged by the victim's son. Efforts are underway to identify and arrest the accused. Further investigation is in progress....