Five staff members at Gurugram-Faridabad toll plaza assaulted, 15 booked

The incident took place at 2pm on December 31 when one of the suspects, who was driving an SUV, refused to pay the toll and passed through by breaking the boom barriers. He parked the SUV at a distance and called his friends, who then assaulted the toll booth operators,’ said Ashish Bhardwaj, director of South Asian Tollways Pvt Ltd, the company which operates the toll plaza

Five staff members at the Gurugram-Faridabad toll plaza at Bandhwari, including a 19-year-old man, were assaulted on December 31 by a man who refused to pay the toll and his associates, police said. A case was registered against 15 people on Tuesday night after the toll management reported the incident and handed over a copy of CCTV footage, police said on Wednesday.

A video grab from CCTV footage shows staff members of the Gurugram-Faridabad toll plaza being assaulted on December 31.

Police officers said they have identified five suspects and are conducting an investigation to identify the rest.

Ashish Bhardwaj, director of South Asian Tollways Pvt Ltd, the company which operates the toll plaza, registered a complaint at the Gwal Pahari police post and said five of the staff members, including the toll operators, were allegedly assaulted with sticks and iron rods after they asked a driver to show his identity card.

“The incident took place at 2pm on December 31 when one of the suspects, who was driving an SUV, refused to pay the toll and passed through by breaking the boom barriers. He parked the SUV at a distance and called his friends, who then assaulted the toll booth operators,” he said.

CCTV footage shows a group of men assaulting the employees of the toll plaza. “Gopesh was at the toll collection counter and he requested the driver not to create a ruckus and to pay the toll or show his ID. Within half an hour, at least 15 people started assaulting the staff members,” he added.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said other staff members who ran to Gopesh’s rescue were also assaulted. “When passing commuters began gathering and recording the incident on video, the suspects fled from the spot,” he said.

Vishal Kumar (19), an employee of the toll plaza who was discharged from hospital on Tuesday, said he was helping his colleague when the suspects assaulted him. “For the first time I could not celebrate New Year as I was hospitalised and I am afraid of returning to work because the suspects might come back to attack me. I have decided to quit my job and return to my village,” he said.

A case has been registered against the suspects under sections 148 (riots), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (causing hurt), 427 (causing damage), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at DLF Phase 1 police station.