Top toll official escapes kidnap bid at gunpoint at Kherki Daula plaza

The manager managed to escape as the abductors got stuck in a traffic jam, but they thrashed him and even threatened to shoot him before setting him free on the road

Four men attempted to abduct the assistant manager at gun point at the Kherki Daula toll plaza on Thursday morning following a tiff over payment of toll fees. The manager managed to escape as the abductors got stuck in a traffic jam, but they thrashed him and even threatened to shoot him before setting him free on the road.

An image captured by the CCTV camera shows the Mercedes in which the accused arrived. (SANJEEV VERMA/HT PHOTO)

The incident happened at about 11.30 am when the victim, 34-year-old Manoj Kumar, was forced inside a Mercedes by the accused who were travelling from Manesar to Delhi. Kumar had refused to waive off payment of the toll fee to the accused about an hour before they attempted to abduct him.

Around 10.16 am, an occupant of the Mercedes, registered in the name of a private company in Delhi, had a tiff with a toll collector and Kumar. The man refused to pay the toll and presented a driving licence of a nearby village. Since the picture and name on the licence produced were different, the duo refused to accept the document.

“When I reached near the cabin, I heard him shouting and rushed to pacify him. I asked him to pay the toll charge. He asked us to keep the driving licence and said he would be back soon to collect it. He said he would pay the toll charge once he’s back,” the victim said.

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Kumar said at 11:30 am he was standing near lane number 9 at the toll plaza on the Jaipur side, when the four occupants of the car called him, one of them pulled out a pistol and asked him to sit in the car.

Once inside the vehicle, one of the accused cocked his weapon and threatened him. But they refrained from opening fire as they had reached near the toll booth, said the victim. At the booth, one of the accused came out of the car could be spotted in the CCTV footage at the toll booth removing the boom barrier forcibly. However after crossing the toll, the car took a left turn towards the service lane and stopped around 150 meters from the plaza towards Delhi.

The victim was pushed out of the car, and beaten by four men and were soon joined by another group of toughs who rolled up in the Fortuner.

“There was traffic congestion on the road and they and feared being seen or caught trying to take me away. One of them shouted, ’Shoot him’, while another said ‘Shoot at his leg’. I was thinking of my three children and family. I saw my entire life flash before me and did not dare utter a single word,” said the victim.

The abductors parked the car on left side of the road as the Toyota Fortuner SUV with another half- a-dozen of men reached the spot. They assaulted him on the road.

“They hit me with the pistol butt on my stomach and head. I was certain they won’t let me go, but when they saw the people around and the traffic congestion, they pushed me out and fled the spot,” he said.

“This is a very serious incident . Although several such attacks on toll employees have happened, the attempt to abduct a top toll official at gunpoint is scary. The staff is shaken and stirred and fear for their security. Police must take serious action,” P Raju, a senior official of MCEPL, said.

The Kherki Daula police, meanwhile, registered a case under several sections of IPC including threat to life, assault and abduction under IPC sections 147, 506, 365, 149, 323, and the Arms Act.

“We have received the complaint from the victim and have identified the car. We will arrest the accused involved in the case soon,” inspector Jaswant Singh, SHO, Kherki Daula.

On Saturday, former chairman of Gurgaon block committee, Hoshiyar Yadav, ransacked booths and assaulted a toll collector when he was asked to pay the fee. A police case was filed, but no action has been taken so far.