Police arrest protesters at DND toll
NOIDA: The police on Monday arrested 60 protesters from the Delhi-Noida-Direct Flyway, nearly 31 hours after they forced the toll operator to allow vehicles pass through without paying charges.
The protesters, led by former BJP MLA Nawab Singh Nagar under the umbrella of Janhit Morcha, want the contract between the toll company and the Noida authority to be terminated and charging of toll to be stopped.
“We spoke to the district magistrate (DM) Gautam Budh Nagar, NP Singh, before taking action. We will release them after finishing the formalities,” said Dinesh Yadav, superintendent of police, Noida.
The administration had briefed the UP chief secretary Deepak Singhal about the protest that began at 11 am on Sunday.
Nagar accused the administration of acting at the behest of the toll company. ”The administration should have helped us in removing the toll in the interest of the people. We will continue our protest till the toll is removed,” said Nagar.
The NTBCL officials said they were talking with the administration. The toll firm claimed to have been facing loss due to the protest. More than 250 police personnel were deployed at the toll plaza from Sunday morning, including two platoons of PAC.
The Delhi HC on Monday rejected a NTBCL plea, seeking a direction against the protest by anti-toll agitators.