A group of truck drivers attacked a civic volunteer on NH19 in West Burdwan’s Budbud with a sandal and fists after he allegedly asked for a bribe for letting them enter a no-entry zone on the national highway.
Some policemen on duty at the spot were also pushed around by angry drivers after they came to the rescue of the civic volunteer.
The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, but came to light on Wednesday after the incident’s video clip surfaced on social media. The Telegraph has not verified the authenticity of the clip.
Sources said the police stopped all Calcutta-bound heavy vehicles on the service road of the highway since Tuesday morning because entry of trucks to the state capital was stopped after a record-breaking downpour that waterlogged city roads.
Sources said some truck drivers had suddenly entered the no-entry zone after which the civic volunteer stopped them by waving his stick. An altercation ensued.
The truck drivers alleged that the civic volunteer first beat up one of them with a stick when he refused to shell out the bribe and broke the side-view mirror of a truck for entering the no-entry zone by “mistake”.
Angered at the assault, one of the truck drivers alleged started hitting the civic volunteer with his sandal while others punched him, the purported video clip of which got widely circulated on Wednesday.
Cops from Budbud police station rushed to the spot and controlled the situation, said sources. Cops brought the accused truck drivers and the civic volunteer to the police station.
However, no case was started as no one lodged any complaint.
The police claimed the truck drivers’ allegation that the civic volunteer sought a bribe was baseless and the entire incident was the result of a “misunderstanding”.
“There was no incident of any bribe being sought from the truck drivers. Our team was manning traffic on the highway. We detained all Calcutta-bound trucks on the
service road of the NH following a state government order,” said Rajkumar Malakar, assistant commissioner of police (traffic).
Asked why they didn’t file a complaint against truck drivers accused of beating up the civic volunteer, Malakar said everything would be probed.