Toll official targeted twice in two days at Kherki Daula Gate

A day after allegedly being dragged on a car’s bonnet, the spokesperson of Skylark, a private company that operates the Kherki Daula toll plaza, was allegedly assaulted by a 39-year-old man on Friday with a brick after a heated argument over paying toll, police said.

The suspect, identified as Kiran Pal, is a resident of Baghanki, Manesar. Pal was arrested from the spot, police said. A case was registered against him under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Kherki Daula police station.

According to police, the victim, Kripal Singh, who hails from Rewari, has been working at the toll plaza for four years. The incident took place around 12pm when one of the toll collectors stopped a WagonR car, asking the driver to pay the toll.

“The driver gave the car’s registration certificate (RC) which showed that the vehicle was registered in Manesar and is exempted from paying the toll. However, the RC was found to be forged. Subsequently, the owner of the car came to the spot and began abusing me and other toll plaza employees. He picked up a brick and hit me on my head,” the victim stated in his police complaint.

Amit Singh, manager, Kherki Daula toll plaza, said that Singh fainted on the spot and was rushed to a Civil Hospital and later referred to Mendata hospital in Sector 38 where his condition is said to be critical. However, police said that the victim sustained minor injuries and was taken to a government hospital.

Subhash Boken, spokesperson, city police, said, “The victim’s condition is stable. Police have arrested the suspect from the spot. His car has been confiscated. The matter is being investigated.”

In a video of the alleged incident, shared multiple times on the social media, a man in blue shirt and jeans is seen arguing with the victim and other toll plaza employees. When he notices that someone is recording him, he tries to kick the person.

This is the fourth incident at the toll plaza within eight days wherein men perpetrated the crime to skip paying the toll.

On Thursday, police had arrested two men for attempt to murder after they allegedly dragged two toll plaza employees, including Singh, on the bonnet of their car for at least 200 metres.

The CCTV camera footage of Thursday’s incident shows that two men, in a black Honda City car, drive up on lane number 19 of the toll plaza.

One of them gets off the car and lifts the boom barrier to let the car pass. When Singh and the other employee try to stop the car, they are driven away on the bonnet.

On June 21, a toll employee got injured after a car had allegedly hit him while trying to speed its way past the boom barrier to avoid paying the tax.

A few hours later on the same day, a female toll collector was allegedly slapped, punched and manhandled by a man after he refused to pay the toll.