Night Attack On Madhya Pradesh Toll Plaza, 2 Drown In Well While Fleeing

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Bhopal:

Two workers at a toll plaza in Madhya Pradesh fell into a well and drowned while running to save themselves during an attack by masked gunmen, allegedly over a toll tax dispute. The bodies of Agra’s Srinivas Parihar and Nagpur’s Shivaji Kandele were recovered from the well yesterday.

According to police, the incident took place on Tuesday around 10 p.m. Chilling footage from CCTV cameras at Dagrai toll plaza on the National Highway – 44 shows masked men on four bikes riding near the toll booths. They then start kicking the doors of toll counters and some manage to enter the booths. The attackers are seen damaging computers, beating up the toll plaza staff and trying to drag them out.

The personnel, it is learned, ran into the adjacent field to save their lives when the attackers started firing in the air. While they were running, Parihar and Kandele fell into an uncovered well just behind the office and drowned.

The toll plaza contract between Jhansi and Gwalior changed on April 1 and was transferred to a new contractor. Some locals, it is learned, had an arrangement with the previous contractor and their vehicles allegedly left the toll booth without payment. The new contractor refused to play ball. This led to a dispute and Tuesday night’s attack was planned to terrorize the new contractor, reports say.

An officer said a case has been registered against unidentified persons and investigation has started.

Toll tax is a charge that vehicle owners have to pay for using some highways, tunnels, bridges, etc. The amount is used for repairs and maintenance. Costs vary depending on the size of the vehicle.