Two security guards of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ram Shankar Katheria were arrested on Wednesday, PTI reported, quoting police. The security personnel had assaulted toll plaza employees and fired a gun in the air after an argument on July 6 in Etmadpur area of Agra district.
The guards were arrested from Tundla town, said Station House Officer of Etmadpur police station Vikas Tomar. He said the two had been suspended and an investigation was going on.
The two accused were identified as Vipin Choudhary and Pinku Upadhyaya, IANS reported.
On July 6, a first information report was registered on the basis of CCTV footage that showed the altercation between the guards and the toll plaza staff. Katheria, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Etawah, was present during the incident.
The staff at the toll plaza had said that the argument started after they asked drivers in Katheria’s convoy to exit the plaza in a queue so that the boom barrier did not fall on the other vehicles. Following this, the politician’s security personnel got out of the vehicle and assaulted the staff.
The BJP MP had also filed a first information report blaming the toll plaza employees for the commotion, The New Indian Express reported on Monday. Katheria alleged that the toll plaza staff had tried to stop the car of his security personnel. “As the security personnel got down from the car, toll employees abused and hit them,” the complaint said. “Hearing the commotion, as I got down from my vehicle and tried to pacify them, about five of toll plaza men rushed towards me with baton in hand.”
Katheria said that following this, his guards fired in the air as they perceived him to be in danger. He further said that the toll plaza staff ran away due to the presence of additional security of the politician.
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