Meerut: Four poll plaza employees have been arrested from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh on charges of assaulting an Army jawan who was on his way to Kashmir to rejoin his unit.
A video shows the men pinning the soldier to a pole and thrashing him brutally. One of them is seen beating the jawan with a stick.
The soldier, Kapil Kavad, is from the Rajput Regiment of the Indian Army. He was home on leave and was heading to Delhi airport to fly to his post in Srinagar. Kapil and his cousin got stuck at the crowded Bhuni toll booth. Anxious about getting late for his flight, Kapil got out of the car and started speaking to the toll booth staff.
An altercation followed and at least five toll booth employees thrashed Kapil and his cousin. A video of the assault showed them beating Kapil with a stick. Some assailants then pin Kapil to a pole, pull his hands back as one of them hurls abuses and beats up the soldier.
“Kapil is in the Indian Army. He was returning to his post. There was a long queue at the Bhuni toll booth. He was in a hurry and he spoke to the toll booth staff. An argument began and the toll booth staff assaulted him. Following a complaint from his family, a case was registered at Sarurpur police station,” Rakesh Kumar Mishra, SP (Rural), said.
While four accused have been arrested after scanning CCTV footage and videos, two more teams are working to arrest the other accused, another official said.
According to some reports, the altercation began when Kapil told the toll booth staff that his village is in the area and exempted from toll charges. This led to an argument that snowballed into the soldier’s assault.
