Qian Yunhui, the head of Zhaiqiao village in the eastern province of Zhejiang, was killed when a truck hit him as he walked across a street, state media said Tuesday.

Explicit photos said to show Qian crushed under the front wheel of the truck were posted on tianya.com, Netease as well as the popular microblogging service run by web portal sina.com.

The unlicensed driver from neighbouring Anhui province was detained along with six residents who attacked police when they arrived at the accident, the China Daily said.

Local police insisted Qian's death was a hit-and-run accident, but villagers and web users said the 53-year-old may have been murdered after he repeatedly demanded compensation for farmland seized five years ago, the report said.

"This is not a traffic accident. It is you killing someone for the seizure of the land," one user said on a local chat forum.

A villager surnamed Wu was quoted by the Global Times as saying, "It's hard to believe it's an accident".

Qian had been detained three times since 2005 for repeatedly demanding compensation for farmers after nearly 150 hectares (370 acres) of land was seized by Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group Company, the reports said.

The village was entitled to up to 65 million yuan (10 million dollars) in compensation but none of the villagers have yet received any money, the Global Times said.

The case highlights the growing might of the Internet in China -- which has the world's largest online population at 420 million users -- in a nation where ordinary citizens have few outlets to address perceived injustices.

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