Army jawan on way back to Srinagar tiedto pole at Meerut toll plaza, brutally beaten

Meerut: An Army jawan of the Rajput Regiment, who was on his way to Delhi to catch a flight back to his post in Srinagar after exhausting his leaves, was tied to a pole and brutally beaten by toll plaza staff in Meerut on Sunday night after his vehicle got stuck in a long queue and he showed his service ID to the staff to "allow him to pass through".Taking cognizance of the incident which took place at Bhuni on the Meerut-Karnal highway, NHAI, in a statement on Monday, said it has slapped a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on the toll collecting agency. Police also arrested six people for attacking the 25-year-old Army jawan, Kapil Kavad, and "is scanning CCTV footage for more culprits"."NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) has taken strict action on the incident of misbehaviour with the Army personnel by toll staff on Aug 17 and has imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on the toll collecting agency and has initiated the process of terminating and debarring the toll collection firm from future participation in toll plaza bids...,"

NHAI stated in its official ‘X' handle.The incident sparked outrage and led to a retaliatory attack on the toll plaza by hundreds of locals from Kavad's home village, Gotka, on Monday morning. A purported video of the assault on the Army man was also widely circulated on social media. The injured jawan was later carried away by the Army personnel, his family revealed.SSP (Meerut) Vipin Tada said that six people were identified, arrested and sent to jail.

"The accused have been booked under BNS sections of attempt to murder, rioting and breach of peace, among others. CCTV footage is being scanned to find the other culprits. Heavy police force has been deployed at the site," Tada added.Kavad's cousin, Pradeep Panwar, who was also present, added: "There was a traffic jam at the toll. Kapil (Kavad) stepped out of the vehicle and requested to let him pass as he had to catch a flight. But they instead started abusing him. There was an argument. Four men all of a sudden tied his arms behind a pole and others repeatedly beat him. They also kicked him several times..."The arrested toll staff members are Sachin Kumar, Suresh Rana, Ankit Sharma, Vijay Singh, Anuj Kumar and Ankit Singh, police said.