Enraged over the discovery of the college guard's body, a mob today vandalised an under-construction agriculture college building and torched vehicles, including that of government officials in Bihar's Saharsa district, police said.
Soon after the body of the missing 'chowkidar' Phulchand Yadav (50) was dug out from the college premises in Agwanpur village, the victim's relatives and villagers assembled at the spot and set on fire a generator and a tractor parked there, the sources said.
The protesters also set on fire the vehicle of a government official and damaged a police jeep to vent their ire over the chowkidar's murder alleging that he was killed by the contractor Bechan Kumar who owed him about Rs 1.5 lakh over payment of wages to labourers hired by Yadav.
The protesters attacked the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Pankaj Dixit and the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Dilip Kumar Mishra after they reached there to pacify the mob and set on fire Dixit's vehicle, a police vehicle.
District Magistrate Shashi Bhushan Kumar and the Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Kumar Naik later rushed to the spot and pacified the agitators.
Yadav had sometimes back called a panchayat meeting to pressurise the contractor to clear his payment after which the latter had given him Rs 15,000, but was refusing to make additional payment, villagers claimed.
The victim had gone missing since December 27 last.
Naik said a task force has been set up to arrest the absconding contractor.
