Night attack at toll plaza in Madhya Pradesh, two people drowned while escaping

Bhopal:

Two employees of a toll plaza in Madhya Pradesh fell into a well and drowned while escaping an attack by masked gunmen, allegedly over a toll tax dispute. The bodies of Srinivas Parihar of Agra and Shivaji Kandele of Nagpur were fished out from a well yesterday.

Police said the incident happened around 10pm on Tuesday. Chilling footage captured by a CCTV camera at Dagrai toll plaza on National Highway 44 shows masked men riding four bikes near the toll plaza. They then started kicking in the door to the toll counter and some managed to get inside. The attackers destroyed computers, beat toll booth staff and tried to drag them out.

It is understood staff ran into a neighboring field to save lives as the attacker fired into the air. As they fled, Paliha and Candler fell into an uncovered well behind the office and drowned.

The toll plaza contract between Jhansi and Gwalior was changed on April 1 and handed over to a new contractor. It is understood that some locals reached an understanding with the former contractor and their vehicles allegedly passed through the toll plaza without payment. The new contractor refused to cooperate. This reportedly sparked a dispute and Tuesday night’s attack was planned to intimidate the new contractor.

An official said a case has been registered against unidentified persons and investigation is on.

Toll taxes are fees car owners pay to use certain highways, tunnels, bridges, etc. This amount is used for repairs and maintenance. Fees vary based on the size of the vehicle.