Villagers run riot, wreck toll booths in Hoskote
20 April 2015 11:10 AM IST20 April 2015 11:10 AM IST
Police cane crowd of over 300 after staffers beat up resident in Budigere
Budigere toll plaza which was set on fire after the attack (Photo: DC/File)
BENGALURU: A group of over 300 villagers rioted, vandalised toll booths and burnt one of them at Budigere toll plaza on National Highway 4 in Hoskote on Sunday morning after a local resident was allegedly dragged into a toll booth and beaten up by toll plaza employees.
Bengaluru Rural police rushed to the spot and resorted to a mild lathi-charge to disperse the angry mob, even as employees of the toll plaza fled from the spot. The victim, Manjunath (20), a resident of Huskur Gate, and his family were on their way to Sulibele when they came near the toll booth around 9.45 am. The family has a local pass to use the toll plaza every day, but had not carried it on Sunday.
The toll plaza employees asked them to pay up before moving ahead, leading to a bitter tiff between Manjunath, his father Narayana Swamy and the toll employees. The situation turned ugly when the toll plaza employees abused Manjunath and his father, and threatened them. A furious Manjunath allegedly slapped one of the employees, and immediately the other toll staffers dragged Manjunath into one of the booths and assaulted him with a wooden log.
The alarmed family members informed their relatives and friends at the village. Soon, a crowd of over 300 villagers had arrived at the spot and went on the rampage. They blocked the National Highway 4, disrupted traffic for and vandalised 11 toll booths.
Bengaluru Rural SP B. Ramesh rushed to the spot with additional forces of over 150 policemen and resorted to a mild lathi-charge to disperse the mob. “A small argument over a pass to cross the toll plaza led to the fracas between Manjunath and toll plaza employees. Soon after, we rushed to the spot and resorted to lathi charge to disperse the mob. But after sometime, the protesters returned and torched one of the booths. The police have obtained the CCTV footage and are verifying it, as the entire incident has been recorded in these cameras,” Mr Ramesh said.
The police have registered a case under Section 307. Lanco authorities are also contemplating to file a counter complaint against Manjunath. Manjunath has suffered severe injuries on his arms and is being treated at Manipal Hospital. The toll booths are run by Lanco. The traffic on National Highway 4 was brought back to normal within a few hours and the vehicles were allowed to pass the toll gate without paying toll charges.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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