Mangaluru: A youth suffered serious injuries in an assault presumably by the toll gate staff, when he questioned them over attacking an elderly person near Talapady toll booth on April 13.

Sarafath (25), son of Mohammed Sali, resident of Kandaka is the injured person. The incident occurred at Talapady toll gate when the youth was heading towards Kasaragod from Mangaluru at 2.30 pm in the afternoon. He was allegedly attacked by toll gate staff, when he questioned them about attacking an elderly car driver. Sarafath suffered injuries in the incident and was admitted to Saroj Hospital in Ullal town.

A complaint has been registered at the Ullal police station based on youth’s version. In the complaint, the youth has mentioned the role of staff, taking into account, the badges worn by them during duty. Police are verifying the CCTV footages to get more details on the incident. In an earlier incident, a vehicle owner was assaulted for questioning the issueing of duplicate receipt at the same booth.

Complaints abound over toll booth staff fleecing innocent passengers over baggage

It is gathered that the toll gate staff fleece travellers heading towards Kasaragod from Mangaluru by charging extra on baggage. In most metros, policemen are employed to guard toll booth but at Talapady, certain youth exercise their power to fleece passengers on the way, according to road users. They are urging authorities to rein in the youth, 10-15 in number, who muzzle innocent passengers.