A disturbing incident from the Mandya district in Karnataka highlights the misconduct of toll plaza employees on the busy Bengaluru–Mysuru Highway. Mahesh, a young man, is said to have been assaulted after he argued with toll staff at the Gananguru toll plaza over an insufficient FASTag balance.
The attack happened two days ago, according to reports, when Mahesh, with his friends, pulled up at the toll plaza in a car. During the routine check, it was found that there was insufficient balance on the FASTag account associated with the vehicle. What was a minor inconvenience turned into a vicious confrontation.
According to reports, Mahesh asked for a little while. He apparently tried to reverse his car and called friends on the phone to try to arrange payment or to get help, it was said. But rather than help sort out the issue, toll staff reportedly verbally abused him.
Things soon escalated further, with toll workers allegedly seizing Mahesh’s mobile phone and assaulting him, officials have reported. It is said that they chased, manhandled and beat the young man down with “goonda”-like behaviour, bystanders said. The assault has been met with anger, especially as toll plazas are supposed to treat commuters with professionalism and safeguard them from harm.
Video of it on his mobile phone is now on the internet, circulating across social media. Visual evidence has been instrumental for highlighting the severity of the incident. "There’s yet another incidence of the issues that plague toll plazas all over India, whether it be over FASTag balances or payment points, which leads to clashes from time to time," said Mr Sharma.
FASTag was also initiated to facilitate toll payments and eliminate holdups for payees, but events like these have demonstrated that staff need to be better trained to respond to disputes peacefully and legally. A viral video will be investigated by the authorities.
People and commuters have appealed to the authorities to take strong actions on those charged, who will, apparently, have to be prosecuted for a payment dispute that was never violent.
Mandya toll assault is a reminder that convenience must be combined with the good behaviour of responsible human beings on systems. Holding toll staff accountable and imposing strict guidelines for working the sites for staff must be a top priority to prevent incidents like this in the future.
