5 held over assaulting toll plaza female staff in Greater Noida

Police said during the protest the employee tried to manage the situation and requested them to let her work. During that moment, the suspect (Mukhiya) allegedly manhandled her

Greater Noida: A 28-year-old man from Bulandshahr was arrested, and four others were detained after a CCTV footage surfaced online showing a woman employee at the Luharli toll plaza in Dadri, Greater Noida being manhandled, police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon when nearly 150 people, claiming to be farmers, gathered at the Luharli toll plaza to protest the toll charges imposed on their commercial vehicles. (HT Photos)

Police identified the main suspect as Amit Mukhiya, a resident of Hirdeypur in Sikandrabad, Bulandshahr.

The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon when nearly 150 people, claiming to be farmers, gathered at the Luharli toll plaza to protest the toll charges imposed on their commercial vehicles, such as trucks and dumpers, demanding exemption from it.

“They were demanding free passage for their vehicles, citing frequent use of the toll plaza in a single day,” said an official requesting anonymity.

Police said during the protest the employee tried to manage the situation and requested them to let her work. During that moment, the suspect (Mukhiya) allegedly manhandled her.

“In the video, Mukhiya can be seen aggressively approaching the 21-year-old woman, grabbing her neck from behind and pushing her. He then forces toll plaza employees to stop collecting toll charges and allows several private vehicles to pass without payment,” the officer added.

Following an emergency call to helpline number 112, a team from Dadri police station reached the spot and registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for voluntarily causing hurt, assault or use of criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation, and criminal intimidation against Mukhiya and his unidentified accomplices on the complaint of toll plaza manager Arjit Das Gupta.

“We arrested the prime suspect, Mukhiya, on Tuesday night and detained four others for creating a ruckus and obstructing toll plaza employees from performing their duties,” said additional deputy commissioner of police (Greater Noida) Sudhir Kumar, adding that the BNS section for assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty was added late night and further investigation is underway.

On Wednesday, several people converged on Luharli toll plaza to press for their demands. However, a heavy police force was deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

Two held for performing stunts near Sector 126

In a separate incident, Noida police arrested two men after a video showing them performing stunts in a Toyota Fortuner near Sector 126 in Noida went viral on social media, officers said.

The video shows a white Fortuner being driven rashly on a Noida road. The occupants suddenly stop the vehicle in the middle of the road and start celebrating by spraying some liquid from bottles.

Taking cognizance of the video, Noida police traced the vehicle with registration number of the SUV seen in the video. “We have arrested Diwakar Sharma, 19, and Sanjay Kumar Singh, 20, both residents of Sector 46, for performing stunts on the road,” said Noida’s additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Sumit Shukla.

“The SUV used in the stunt has also been seized, and a case has been registered against them for obstructing traffic and creating public nuisance at 126 police station,” he ADCP added.