NH-24 toll booth attacked; Rs 40,000 looted

GHAZIABAD: A day after a booth operator was shot dead at the Kherki-Daula toll plaza on Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, four employees of the National Highway-24 (Delhi-Lucknow) toll bridge contractor were injured when at least five dacoits looted about Rs 40,000 from two toll booths. The incident happened around 9.30pm on Friday. Over a dozen shots were fired in the air by the dacoits and toll bridge guards.

The unidentified men also smashed the glass panes of the booths and caused some other damage too. The guards seized their truck. But, the Massoori police did not register any case despite the toll bridge contractor giving them a report in writing. This was revealed by the in-charge of the toll bridge, who is an employee of Abhyudaya Housing and Construction, ND Shukla.

He told Times City that "both the police and some local leaders persuaded us to withdraw the charges. We have to live and function here. So, we cannot go against everyone else's wishes. Otherwise, too, this area is so unruly that we fail to recover about 30 per cent of the toll due to us. But, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Ghaziabad senior superintendent of police Raghuvir Lal and area police circle officer Rajesh Bharti could not be contacted for their comments despite several attempts by this correspondent.

"This area is very volatile. That's the reason we need armed guards permanently posted here,'' said Shukla. "But untoward incidents can still happen, off and on."

Friday night's trouble apparently started with a DCM Toyota light commercial carrier arriving at one of the toll booths.

Asked to pay for the toll ticket, the occupants, five or six, attacked the employees with rods and threw stones and bricks at them. "Four of our men were injured and one had to be hospitalised. They fired shots too. Our two armed guards responded by firing shots in the air. Ultimately, the dacoits snatched Rs 40,000 of our toll collection and fled. We learnt later that they live close by," said Shukla.

He said he gave a written report of the incident to the area police station but some "local leaders and the police persuaded us not to have a case registered. This is the reason why there is so much trouble at the toll plaza. If some persons are arrested, we will not face this kind of trouble."