Goons Unleash Terror At Toll Plaza

How some villagers are able to resort to extreme violence just for toll-free rides on Delhi-Gurugram border despite a massive security cover in the area

- Ram Kinkar Singh and Ajay Kumar

Toll tax collector Soni Kumari doesn’t want to say anything about a particular Thursday (August 29) when she was slapped by a car driver after she insisted him to pay the requisite amount at the Kherki Daula plaza on Delhi-Jaipur highway. The incident, however, brings along nightmares every time she starts her day at work.

“Ever since that day, every time I do my duty, there is a fear that creeps in,” she said while trying to narrate her ordeal a few days after the incident.

Caught on camera installed at the toll plaza, Kumar can be seen hitting the driver back in retaliation after an argument that broke at 11:50 am. She says she had only asked the commuter to pay Rs 65 as mandated by the government.

Kumari is not the only toll staffer to be at the receiving end of arrogant, and sometimes violent, commuters at the plaza where close to 250 employees, including 45 women, run more than 28 booths. In fact, ever since it started operating in January 2008, Kherki Daula plaza has recorded repeated instances of violence involving abuses and assaults on operators, flashing guns and cars speeding away while attendants grab on to the car — all due to refusals of paying the toll tax.

In less than nine months since December, there have been nine violent incidents of scuffles between the commuters and staff recorded by the police.