A truck was pelted with stones by allegedly drunk tollgate operators in Ladmeri, at the border of Hima Nongkhlaw and Sohiong, the Meghalaya Commercial Truck Owners and Drivers Association (MCTODA) today informed.
The incident occurred at around 7:30pm on April 6. The truck was being driven by one John Syiemlieh.
Syiemlieh said that the reason for the attack was that he did not comply with the demand to pay Rs 400 at the toll gate.
He claimed that a stone thrown by the operators smashed through the driver side window and severely injured his head. The driver then crashed his truck into a wall to prevent it from plunging into a deep gorge.
An FIR has been filed at Mairang police station and MCTODA is demanding that the culprits be punished according to the law. It has also reiterated its demand that the government cracks down on illegally-operating tollgates. MCTODA has previously accused the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and Himas of operating such gates. The KHADC has denied that its tollgates are illegal.
The truck driver union has also written to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways about such tollgates and received a response that no such authority has been given to the state government or traditional institutions to set up tollgates on the highways.
