BHUBANESWAR: With the Biju Patnaik International Airport Authorities turning a blind eye, the high-handedness of parking attendants plunged to a new low on Sunday when they manhandled and misbehaved with a lady when she refused to bow down to their illegal demand for parking fee.
The private parking agency’s men ganged up against the woman, who had flown from Delhi to Bhubaneswar during the evening hours, to abuse her. She was not only manhandled but also threatened by the parking agency people who even dared her to lodge a complaint with the Airport Director and Airfield police.
The complainant lodged an FIR with Airfield police against the parking staff and in-charge of the agency Colonel Routray. They have been booked under Sections 341, 294, 354 (A), 384 and 506 of the IPC.
The incident happened at around 8.30 pm. According to the complainant, she landed in the city and called an autorickshaw over phone. As soon as the autorickshaw came, she boarded it and headed for the exit.
However, the autorickshaw was made to wait as the staff had deliberately created an artificial delay by queuing up the vehicles in just one lane though three lanes were available. When her turn came, she was asked to pay ` 30 but the complainant pointed out that the autorickshaw had taken just three minutes from the point of entry to the exit.
A parking attendant rushed to her and demanded the fee. She challenged the staff’s demand for money and produced the parking slip. Soon after, another man emerged from the fee collection counter and snatched the slip from her hands and held the three-wheeler captive, the FIR stated.
“Since none of the two was carrying identity cards, I asked them to call their senior/in-charge official but was abused by the duo,” the complainant stated. Meanwhile, their in-charge Colonel Routray appeared and threatened the woman stating that neither the police nor the Airport Director can take him to task.
The complainant said she had faced similar high-handedness in the past but this time, their misbehaviour crossed all limits of decency. After the matter was reported to Airfield Police Station, a PCR van reached the spot and escorted the woman to police station where she lodged a complaint.
This is not the first instance of a passenger being meted out rogue behaviour by the parking agency staff. There have been several instances in the past and the matter has even been reported to the airport authorities but in vain.