Varanasi: Three members of a family were killed and two others sustained critical injuries after a truck suffered a tyre burst, veered off the Varanasi-Shaktinagar highway and crashed into their house in Mirzapur’s Ahraura area early Thursday. The incident triggered violent protests, with angry villagers blocking the highway, damaging several vehicles, including a police jeep, and forcing police to use mild force to disperse the crowd.Mirzapur Additional SP (Operations) Rajkumar Meena said Ahraura police rushed to the spot after receiving information from locals. Preliminary investigation revealed that a truck travelling from Varanasi to Sonbhadra lost control after a tyre burst, entered a house at Kudaran village and crushed three members of a family who were sleeping outside due to the heat.Police immediately launched a rescue operation and pulled out two injured persons — Suhani (12) and Sunil Sharma (45) — from beneath the vehicle. They were taken to the Chacheri Community Health Centre in Chunar and later referred to the Trauma Centre at BHU, Varanasi.The deceased were identified as Rajaram Rajbhar (47), Sukhiya (70) and Chandtara (45).According to the police, Rajaram and his family members had been sleeping outside their house along the roadside because of the hot weather when the truck ran over them before crashing into the wall of the house.As news of the tragedy spread, hundreds of villagers gathered at the spot, blocked the Varanasi-Sonbhadra highway and demanded compensation for the victims’ family. The protest soon turned violent, with some people pelting stones and damaging several vehicles, including a police jeep.Circle Officer (Operations) Mohd Faheem Quraishi said additional police force was deployed from nearby police stations to bring the situation under control. Senior police officers and the SDM held talks with the bereaved family.He said some people repeatedly disrupted the negotiations and continued attacking vehicles, forcing the police to use mild force to disperse the crowd. The highway was subsequently cleared for traffic, and adequate police personnel have been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure.