BHOPAL: Two toll-booth employees fell into a well and drowned while desperately trying to dodge a hail of bullets fired by masked gunmen at a toll naka in MP’s Datia late Tuesday night.
The victims have been identified as Haryana resident Srinivas Parihar and Nagpur resident Shivaji Kandele. Police are trying to identify the shooters. The firing was caught on CCTV cameras at the booth.
“The toll employees have not named anyone.It seems there was a dispute over toll after which the firing took place. We are examining CCTV footage to identify the shooters,” SP Virendra Mishra told TOI.
The incident happened at Dagrai toll plaza on NH44, around 80km from Gwalior and right next to the Uttar Pradesh border. Around 10pm, a dozen-odd masked men arrived on motorcycles and began attacking the toll booth employees. CCTV footage shows them kicking down doors and trying to drag the staff out. Then, the shooting begins. The toll booth staff scattered to save themselves. The violence continued for 15-20 minutes, police said. Parihar and Kandele ran towards the fields and fell into an uncovered well. Their bodies were found during a search on Wednesday morning, and sent for autopsy.
The victims’ family members went to the spot on Wednesday and accused police of “overlooking key facts”. One of them told mediapersons that police were deliberately showing them a ‘wrong scene of crime’.
The victims have been identified as Haryana resident Srinivas Parihar and Nagpur resident Shivaji Kandele. Police are trying to identify the shooters. The firing was caught on CCTV cameras at the booth.
“The toll employees have not named anyone.It seems there was a dispute over toll after which the firing took place. We are examining CCTV footage to identify the shooters,” SP Virendra Mishra told TOI.
The incident happened at Dagrai toll plaza on NH44, around 80km from Gwalior and right next to the Uttar Pradesh border. Around 10pm, a dozen-odd masked men arrived on motorcycles and began attacking the toll booth employees. CCTV footage shows them kicking down doors and trying to drag the staff out. Then, the shooting begins. The toll booth staff scattered to save themselves. The violence continued for 15-20 minutes, police said. Parihar and Kandele ran towards the fields and fell into an uncovered well. Their bodies were found during a search on Wednesday morning, and sent for autopsy.
The victims’ family members went to the spot on Wednesday and accused police of “overlooking key facts”. One of them told mediapersons that police were deliberately showing them a ‘wrong scene of crime’.
