Gurgaon: A group of men armed with sticks allegedly stormed the Ghamroj toll plaza on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on Tuesday morning, brutally assaulting toll staff and vandalising the office after a dispute over payment of toll charges.The attack left a 52-year-old security guard with fractures in both hands and another toll worker seriously injured, officials at the plaza said.The incident took place around 9.15 am when a vehicle reached the toll plaza and its occupants allegedly refused to pay the toll, claiming they were locals and therefore exempt from payment.Toll staff allowed the vehicle to pass after an argument, but the occupants allegedly returned shortly afterwards with several associates in multiple vehicles.CCTV footage showed the men stepping out of vehicles carrying sticks before charging towards the toll booths. According to toll operators, the attackers first targeted security guard Om Prakash after he refused to remove a barricade.When another toll worker tried to intervene, the group allegedly chased him into the toll office and assaulted him there as well. “The goons were searching for whoever defended the guard. When they identified Ajay, they tried to attack him too. He locked himself inside the accounts room but they smashed the glass door, barged in and beat him severely,” a toll operator said.The attackers even struck Ajay on the head with a tiffin box found inside the room, leaving him critically injured.Another worker of the toll plaza alleged that some local youths had been trying to assert dominance at the toll plaza and pressure the staff for illegal concessions for some time. “They came in 5-7 vehicles with sticks. Whoever came in their way was beaten,” the official said.The official also alleged that the men vandalised the accounts room, damaged laptops and hurled casteist slurs at the employees during the assault.Following the incident, a police team from Bhondsi police station reached the spot and collected CCTV footage from the plaza.Police spokesperson ASI Sandeep Turan said no formal complaint was received so far. “If any complaint is filed, necessary legal action will be taken against those found involved,” he said.
