Beed: Toll Plaza Staff Assault Hotel Owner, Family Members; Six Injured

Beed: In a disturbing incident, employees of a toll plaza at Vaidhyakinhi village in Patoda tehsil allegedly assaulted a hotel entrepreneur and his family members, leaving them seriously injured. They were rushed to a hospital in Beed, where they are currently undergoing treatment.

According to preliminary information, the toll plaza is operated by a private contractor under HPCL and has been outsourced to a third party. The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday night at around 9 pm when a four-wheeler arrived at the toll plaza.

As the vehicle’s toll balance had been exhausted, the transaction could not be completed immediately. Toll plaza staff asked the driver to move the vehicle aside while the balance issue was being resolved. This led to a heated verbal exchange between the driver and the toll plaza staff.

Hearing about the altercation, Mahadev Rajaram Rakh, Suraj Prabhakar Bangar, Jaishri Prabhakar Bangar, Saurav Prabhakar Bangar, Prabhakar Pandurang Bangar and Yogesh Ramrao Rakh intervened in an attempt to mediate and defuse the situation. However, the toll plaza operator and his staff allegedly took offence at the intervention and began assaulting the group.

By the time the violence escalated, the four-wheeler involved in the original dispute had already left the spot. The toll plaza staff allegedly continued to assault Rakh and members of the Bangar family, who are hotel operators, beating them mercilessly.

Six people sustained serious injuries in the assault and were admitted to a hospital in Beed for medical treatment.

Police later visited the injured at the hospital and enquired whether they wished to file complaints. However, the victims reportedly declined to give statements, stating that they wished to meet the Superintendent of Police in person. Sources said efforts are underway to further investigate the incident.

Meanwhile, a delegation met Additional Superintendent of Police Sachin Pandkar, submitted a memorandum, and demanded stern action.