A 25-year-old worker at Kherki Daula toll plaza was dragged on the bonnet of an MUV for nearly six kilometres after its driver refused to pay the toll and drove through the barricade on Saturday afternoon.

A video of the incident, which was shared on social media, shows the Toyota Innova being driven along the Delhi-Jaipur highway with the toll plaza employee clinging to the bonnet.

Arun Kumar, the victim, told the police that there were two men in the vehicle, a taxi. He told the police he did not receive any injuries.

The police said they arrested both suspects on Saturday evening and recovered the car from a service lane along the expressway. The driver of the MUV, 26-year-old Pritam, is a taxi driver, and the passenger was his friend, Sandeep Yadav, 32.

“The driver used derogatory language and abused a woman toll collector when she asked him to pay toll. He asked her to open the toll barrier, following which a special duty officer (SDO) came to the spot. But before he could speak to the driver, the driver dragged him while the SDO was on the bonnet of the car,” Rajesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (Manesar), said.

The police had also detained a Khandsa resident who allegedly owned the cab, but was later released. “He is not at fault. The suspect is his brother-in-law and had taken his car to Gurugram on Saturday,” he said.

A case was registered at Kherki Daula police station under sections 307 , 279 , 336, 427, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

Kumar said he had started working at the toll plaza only a month ago and now feared for his life. “I just asked the driver what he was doing. I tried to intercept the car, but he immediately accelerated and I had to get hold of the corners of the bonnet, otherwise he would have crushed me under the wheel. I was repeatedly requesting them to stop the car but both of them were laughing and making fun of me,” he said.

Kumar was taken to an isolated stretch towards Shikohpur village when he fell off the car. The driver then applied the brakes, got out of the car and started threatening him.

“He damaged the bumper of the vehicle and suggested that I be taken to their sarpanch in Shikohpur village. He asked me to remember the registration number and never to stop him again, or else he would kill me. He said even the police was scared of him and did not ask him to stop his car. I got scared and apologised. He was inebriated, and asked me to sit at the back and they started driving,” Kumar said.

After around 500 metres, he jumped out of the moving car. A PCR vehicle, which was looking for him after being informed by the toll plaza staff, reached the spot and rescued him but the accused had fled, the police said.

First Published: Apr 14, 2019 01:48 IST