Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Couple assaulted, car damaged

Staff Reporter

Toll-gate staff under investigation

Thiruvananthapuram: A 41-year-old man, Desmond, and his wife were assaulted by a group of youths near the Chakka-Kazhakuttam National Highway bypass toll-gate on Saturday afternoon. The miscreants, suspected to be persons in charge of collecting toll from motorists, also smashed the windscreens of the vehicle in which the couple were travelling.

The incident occurred around 12.20 p.m. According to the police, the staff on duty at the toll-gate stopped Desmond's car on the ground that he had not paid the levy.

A scuffle ensued and a few youths armed with iron bars and wooden sticks roughed up the couple and caused extensive damage to their car.

The police have registered a case of simple assault against Ramesh, 36, a toll-gate employee. The police have also made Desmond an accused in a simple assault case registered on the basis of the statement given by Ramesh.

A local resident said the toll-gate building was a haven for anti-social elements, particularly at night.

The matter had been brought to the attention of the Pettah police several times, but there had been no decisive action so far.

He alleged that some corrupt elements in the local police station were hand-in-glove with the anti-social elements in the area.

Motorists had often been verbally abused and roughed up by persons manning the toll-gate. However, most of those travelling that way had not preferred to lodge complaints with the police.

The resident said police patrols rarely checked the identity of the persons sitting inside the toll-gate building. None of the persons engaged for collecting toll from vehicles possessed identity cards. The police had little clue about the background of the youths engaged for collecting levy.

Several gangs thriving on the sale of ganja, hooch and heroin had made the locality their prime area of operation.

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