The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Airport parking lot employees accused of attacking car

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 28, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Airport parking lot employees accused of attacking car

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three employees of a private firm that had taken contract for running the parking lot in front of the airport here were arrested on Sunday for allegedly damaging the car of a Malayalam television channel. The Valiyathura police said the accused were Vinod, Santhosh Kumar and Shyam Kumar of the Karnataka Commercial and Industrial Company.

The police said the incident took place around 10.45 a.m. on the parking lot after Mata Amritanandamayi had left the airport premises. The car, which brought a news team of the channel for covering her arrival, was blocked by the accused by placing baggage trolleys in front following a dispute over payment of parking fee. After heated arguments with the driver, one of them smashed the windscreen of the vehicle, the police said.

The Valiyathura police immediately took the three into custody. The supervisors of the firm insisted on parking fee from the photographers of Malayalam dailies also. On the intervention of the airport officials, the supervisors relented. The collection of parking fees from vehicles was suspended for the day after the incident.

A top official of Airports Authority of India said the parking contractor had not been given the authority to exempt anyone from paying the fee. During visits of VVIPs and other occasions, the contractor was asked not to collect the fees for vehicles in which media persons arrived.

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