| Ban Toll Plaza: Taxi driver beaten up; locals stage protest, 6 injured | | | 
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 26: Tension prevailed at the Ban Toll Plaza in Nagrota following an alleged assault by toll personnel on a local taxi driver, this morning.
After this incident, a lot of people from the taxi driver's village reached the Toll Plaza, after which stones were hurled from both sides, in which six people were injured. It is alleged that during this time, a bullet was fired on the Toll Plaza, but the police denied that the shooting took place.
The matter came to light on Saturday morning when a young taxi driver from village Dansal, adjoining Ban Toll Plaza, was going to the airport on his taxi. The taxi driver informed that he had a fast-tag on his taxi and when he reached the Toll Plaza, the toll fee was deducted from his fast tag.
The toll workers stopped the vehicles ahead of him and when he asked the personnel to allow his car to move on, they started abusing him. According to the driver, when he stopped the personnel from abusing him, they came out with iron rods and started beating him.
The driver informed the incident to his brother over the phone and shortly thereafter, the taxi driver's brother reached the spot with the people of the village. Women were also involved with the people of the village and they started an uproar as soon as they reached there.
During this time, when some people saw the taxi of their area broken, their anger erupted after which stone pelting started from both the sides. Glasses of the cabins built on the toll plaza at Patrao were also broken, while six people from both sides were injured, three of whom had to be admitted to GMC Hospital for treatment. The injured, who reached the GMC, included two toll workers Gagandeep, resident of Gurdaspur and Kanwar Singh resident of Chhani Himmat and brother of injured taxi driver Mohammad Abbas resident of Dansal.
On the other hand, the police also reached the mackey seeing the matter getting worse. During this time, there was a sharp rebuke of the people along with the police. People said that the toll plaza has become the base of hooliganism. Here, the employees of Toll Plaza misbehave like this with people, but there is no action on them. People warned that if the police did not take any action this time, they would uproot the toll plaza from here.
Police who have arrived to investigate the matter have captured the footage of CCTV cameras installed on the Ban Toll Plaza. Police say that on the basis of examination of the footage, the taxi driver will be identified with the assault and the vandalists at the toll plaza.
At the same time, people have alleged that toll workers often behave rudely with people here. All this happens here in front of the police, but the police do not take any action against the complaint against toll workers.
SP Rural Sanjay Sharma who reached the spot after this incident says that the police have started investigation in this matter. CCTV footage will be important evidence in the case.
“It will be known from the footage only that what was the real matter and who were involved in it”, SP Rural said, adding that the investigation is being done.
He said that the Police have not received any complaint about firing. “If so, it will also be probed”, he added. |
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