Kasaragod: Videos showing police officers pulling a driver out of his car at the Kumbla toll plaza have triggered widespread outrage on social media, with some users alleging police brutality and others speculating that the incident stemmed from a refusal to pay toll as part of an ongoing protest against the 'illegal toll plaza'.

However, according to the driver, the confrontation began after he questioned toll plaza staff about the barrier boom falling onto his car's windscreen as he started to move forward after the toll amount was deducted through FASTag. As the staff at the counter were Hindi-speaking and could not understand what the driver was saying, the exchange led to a delay, and traffic began to build up at the plaza.

Police personnel soon intervened, reportedly to clear the lane and ease congestion. The situation then escalated rapidly, culminating in the driver being forcibly removed from the vehicle, visuals of which have since gone viral and drawn sharp reactions online. Kasaragod SP Vijay Bharat Reddy said that after an argument with the toll plaza workers, despite repeated requests to keep the vehicle on the side and talk, the person concerned did not move it and removed the keys. "Because of the traffic buildup and inconvenience to other passengers, he had to be forcefully removed from the vehicle," the police added.

In one of the videos, Inspector Mukundan T K, Station House Officer of Kumbla police station, is heard asking: "Is he a king? We agreed to hear his grievance, but he won't move the car from the lane." Onmanorama reached out to the driver, Mohammed Riyaz, a hospital management executive, who said the police intervened with prejudice and without asking for facts.

Riyaz was travelling with his aunt, her two adult daughters and a six-month-old infant. The family, from Bovikanam in Muliyar panchayat of Kasaragod district, was returning after visiting the Ullal Dargah on the outskirts of Mangaluru.

The incident happened around 5.30 pm on Wednesday, nearly two weeks after protesters vandalised the toll plaza on January 14. All these days, the boom barriers were not working, and the toll was automatically deducted only from vehicles with Fastag. On Wednesday, the toll plaza staff returned, and the boom barriers were restored. Riyaz said that while returning from the dargah, the toll amount was deducted through FASTag, and the barrier initially went up. However, as he moved the car forward, the boom suddenly came down and struck the windscreen, startling the six-month-old child who was seated on her mother's lap in the front seat.

"I questioned the toll worker about why the barrier fell. He was Hindi-speaking, and we could not understand each other. While I was trying to explain the issue, the police arrived and asked me to move the car," Riyaz said.
According to him, he attempted to explain what had happened, but did not immediately move the vehicle, following which police personnel tried to pull him out of the car. He said that his aunt, who had recently undergone surgery for a trigger finger -- a condition that causes painful locking of the finger -- tried to intervene, but policemen pulled her arm, resulting in swelling in the operated hand.

Police dragged out Riyaz, who was clinging to the steering wheel and honking the car to attract attention. He was then taken away to the Kumbla police station. His aunt too stepped out and joined him. The police then pushed Riyaz's car to the side of the toll lane and left it there with the women and the child.

Inspector Mukundan said he did not know why Riyaz stopped the car on the toll lane, but his refusal to move the car caused a traffic block at the toll lane. "We agreed to hear his grievance, but he refused to move the car away from the lane. We then used minimum restraint, moved him out of the vehicle and pushed the car to the side," he said. The officer added that it was a preventive arrest under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and that Riyaz was later released.

Riyaz said he and his aunt were released after about an hour and returned to the car at the toll plaza around 7 pm.
He said he has sent a complaint against the officers to the State Police Chief and planned to approach the Kerala Women’s Commission and the District Police Chief on Thursday. Riyaz said he is scheduled to leave for Oman shortly for a new job and expressed concern that the incident should not affect his employment prospects.