BENGALURU:Tension prevailed at the Nelamangala toll gate on Saturday morning after a some members of a Kannada organisation had a fight with the staff over a trivial issue. The furious members then allegedly vandalised the cash collecting counters and traffic was thrown out of gear for a while on the busy Tumakuru Road.
A senior police officer from Nelamangala Rural police station said that around 9.30 am, the members were passing through the toll booth in eight cars and the booth staff allowed six of them to go without paying the toll. However, the other two vehicles were stopped and asked to pay. This led to a quarrel between the staff and the activists, who, in a fit of rage, assaulted Umesh, Manjunath and Govind, said to be the staff at the tollway. Nelamangala Rural police are investigating the case. The activists also staged a protest by blocking the road and were taken into preventive custody.
Venugopal G, the president of Suvarna Karanataka Jana Shakti Vedike (Yelahanka division) said, “The toll booth staff made derogatory remarks about the Kannada shawl which was on the activists’ shoulders. We were ready to pay the toll but they didn’t listen and started abusing us. Then, the staff themselves broke the glasses at the cash counter and made allegations against us.”