A dispute over toll tax at the Karrapur toll plaza in Sagar turned ugly on Monday after an angry power department official allegedly got the plaza's entire electricity supply switched off. Toll plaza management has called it a blatant abuse of official power.
Manager Accuses Official of High-Handedness
Manoj Kumar Tomar, manager of the Karrapur toll plaza, has directly accused electricity department officials of behaving in a dictatorial manner. According to Tomar, Mayank Kumar, an electricity official posted in Banda, commutes between Sagar and Banda every day, and as a courtesy the toll plaza had until now been letting his personal vehicle pass without charging toll. That informal arrangement, Tomar says, has now spiralled into a full blown dispute.
Demand for Free Passage Extended to Commercial Vehicles
Tomar alleges that the official's demands kept growing until he began pressuring toll staff to wave through not just his own car but also loading trucks and other commercial vehicles travelling behind him, all without paying toll. Matters came to a head on Monday when Mayank Kumar's vehicles were stopped, as per the rules, for toll payment.
Argument, a Phone Call, and a Blackout
The toll manager says the official flew into a rage when asked to pay, misbehaving with toll staff on duty and getting into a heated argument with them. Immediately after the argument, Mayank Kumar allegedly phoned Ramnivas Adivasi, an electricity official posted in Karrapur. Soon after that call, Tomar alleges, the power supply to the entire toll plaza was deliberately cut off, an act he attributes to collusion between the two officials and an old rivalry.
Toll Operations Disrupted
The power outage disrupted the toll plaza's routine operations and left staff on duty struggling to manage. Management has described the episode as a glaring example of officials misusing their position and government machinery for personal gain.
