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MLA’s husband, gunmen ‘attack’ toll plaza staffers in Telangana
TRS legislator Bodige Shobha was reportedly unhappy about the toll plaza employees failing to clear the VIP lane for her.
A Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) legislator’s husband and gunmen allegedly attacked the staffers of a toll plaza in Telangana’s Karimnagar district for not according her “VIP treatment” on Tuesday.
According to witnesses, the incident occurred while TRS MLA Bodige Shobha – who represents the Choppadandi assembly constituency in the district – was passing through the toll plaza at Renikunta in Timmapur block along with her husband, Galanna.
While Shobha would have passed unstopped through the VIP lane under normal circumstances, the route was closed due to a vehicular breakdown. The toll plaza staffers, therefore, requested the legislator to use the regular lane – where several vehicles were already awaiting their turn to pass.
Shobha, however, grew impatient as minutes crawled past. When her vehicle finally reached the counter, the MLA shouted at the toll plaza staffer who expressed his helplessness.
Video footage obtained from CCTV cameras installed at the toll plaza showed the legislator’s gunmen alighting from the vehicle and arguing with the staffers. One of the gunmen went as far as to allegedly slap one of the employees. In the meantime, Shobha and Galanna also stepped out of the car and began abusing them.
When Galanna noticed one of the employees recording the incident on his mobile phone, he and another gunman ran after him. “They snatched his cellphone, deleted the recording and beat him up before leaving the place,” a witness told the local media.
Shobha, however, shrugged off the incident. “The toll plaza staffer asked me why they should treat VIPs any differently. One of them addressed me in an abusive manner, after which we were forced to subdue him,” she said.
The toll plaza staff informed the Karimnagar Lower Manair Dam police about the incident, although no formal complaint was lodged. Assistant commissioner of police Usha Rani has examined the CCTV footage.
