Morbi: Police have launched an investigation after bogus toll plazas were found to be operational to extort money from motorists in Gujarat's Morbi district, an official said on Monday.
A case has been registered against five persons, including the owner of a defunct ceramic unit, who have been identified, and others. The accused persons named in the FIR used to stop vehicles and force them to use the makeshift toll plazas set up by them instead of the one operated by an authorised operator on a national highway. They used to charge less money from vehicles compared to the government toll naka, police said.
One Amreesh Patel set up two gates on the boundary wall of his closed ceramic unit on one side of the national highway. He used to force vehicles to pay up so that they could bypass the toll plaza being operated by an authorised operator, a Wankaner city police station official said.
Among the five persons booked by the police, four are accused of forcing vehicles to use two railway crossings to pass through Nava Vaghasiya village on the other side of the national highway to avoid paying at the same government toll plaza, the official said. A similar bogus toll plaza was set up using two railway crossings in the village by two residents and others who used to charge the toll from motorists and other vehicles, he added.
At least five persons have been identified. They and other unidentified persons were booked under sections 384 (extortion), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) among others of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and efforts are underway to nab them, the official said.
This illegal activity has been going on for a long time. The accused had threatened officials of the authorised toll plaza with dire consequences when they raised objections. The ceramic factory owner set up the bogus toll plaza after his factory became defunct around 18 months ago due to economic slowdown, as per the FIR. The accused persons forced vehicles to use their makeshift toll plazas. They charged less money from the vehicles compared to the government plaza, the police said.
