Army jawan assaulted by toll plaza staff | NHAI imposes fine of Rs 20 lakh, debars company

Lucknow: An Army jawan, who was on his way back to his post in Srinagar in Kashmir after spending leave at his native village, was brutally assaulted by the workers of a toll plaza at Bhuni in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district.

According to the reports, the Army jawan, Kapil, who had a flight to catch from Delhi to travel to Srinagar, had an altercation with the toll workers on Sunday after the latter insisted on payment of the toll charges though Kapil showed them his Id Card and contended that he was authorized to travel without paying the charges.

Kapil said that the toll workers snatched his Id Card and mobile phone and brutally assaulted him when he protested. Videos of the incident which went viral on social media purportedly showed the toll staff assaulting the Jawan. Kapil was accompanied by his cousin Shivam and his father Krishna Pal, when the incident happened.

‘’There was a long queue of vehicles at the toll plaza and Kapil pleaded with the toll staff to let him pass quickly as he had a flight to catch,’’ Kapil told the staff, Krishna Pal said.

‘’Ary you (Kapil) a judge?,’’ a toll worker said and allegedly threw his Id card on the ground, he added.

Krishna Pal said that his son was hit with rods, sticks and kicked by 8-10 people….some had held his hands so that he could not protect himself,’’ the father said.

The matter snowballed into a major issue after hundreds of local villagers ransacked the toll plaza on Monday demanding stern action against the staff and staged a dharna there for several hours. The police had a tough time in persuading the irate villagers to call off their protest and assured strict action against the erring toll plaza staff.

Police said that they had arrested the accused persons and were investigating the matter.

The NHAI, taking a strong view of the incident, imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on the toll collecting company and also debarred it from future participation in toll plaza bids. 

NHAI strongly condemns such behaviour by the fee plaza staff and is committed to ensure safe and seamless travel on National Highways.