Mumbai: 24-year-old techie thrashed for refusing to pay toll, 3 held

Three workers at the Katae toll naka on the Kalyan-Manpada road near Thane were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a 24-year-old software engineer after a heated argument over paying toll.

Three workers at the Katae toll naka on the Kalyan-Manpada road near Thane were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a 24-year-old software engineer after a heated argument over paying toll.

The police said the complainant, Swapnil Chavan, 24, is a resident of Ambernath and works with an IT firm in Thane. The incident took place on Tuesday night, when Chavan was heading towards Thane with a friend in a car.

When he reached the toll booth, he was asked to pay toll. He argued that he was a local and should be exempted from paying toll. “In his complaint, Chavan said one of the staff members grabbed his shirt collar. Although he agreed to pay the toll to avoid any further trouble, four of them assaulted him. We have arrested three of them,” said an officer from the Manpada police station, on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The three arrested accused are Santosh Kopare, Abhishek Gaikwad and Amol Rajbhar, while the fourth man, Buwa, is absconding.