Three held for assaulting Luharli toll plaza employees on NH-91

The toll plaza management has given a written complaint to us against the three suspects, alleging that they assaulted the staffers and broke the boom barriers

Three people were arrested for allegedly assaulting staffers and vandalising the Luharli toll plaza on National Highway 91 (NH-91) in Greater Noida on Wednesday, police said on Thursday.

A CCTV footage scrren grab of the ruckus at the toll plaza on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

A video of the incident was captured by the toll booth CCTV camera and its footage was later widely shared on social media.

According to Sujeet Upadhyay, station house officer of Dadri police station, the incident happened around 2pm when three commuters -- identified as Tarun Singh, Mohit Singh and Parvinder Singh -- all residents of Nagla Nainsukh village under Dadri police station jurisdiction, were crossing the toll in their car.

They were headed from their village Nagla Nainsukh towards Sherpur, a village beyond Luharli, said police. The highway goes towards Bulandshahr, Aligarh, and users have to pay a toll of ₹80 for one-way travel, police said.

However, according to the NHAI, locals living in a 20km radius of the toll plaza are entitled to a concession upon producing a valid residential proof.

“The three showed their local ID to the toll plaza staffers and sought exemption from the toll tax. However, the toll staffers insisted that they pay the tax, which led to an argument between the two parties,” said the SHO.

As the altercation became heated, the suspects broke the boom barrier of the toll plaza and vandalised the booths, he added.

The local police were alerted around 2pm by the toll staffers that three men were creating ruckus there. Immediately, a police team reached the spot and took the three into preventive custody.

“The toll plaza management has given a written complaint to us against the three suspects, alleging that they assaulted the staffers and broke the boom barriers. The incident was captured by the CCTV cameras at the toll booth. The three suspects were taken into custody and put under preventive arrest under Section 151 CrPC [Code of Criminal Procedure],” Upadhyay said.

He said the suspects were produced before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody. on Thursday