Suratkal toll plaza protest: Asif taken into custody on NHAI’s complaint

Mangaluru: The police detained social worker Asif Apatbandhava on Monday, February 21 following NHAI’s complaint.

Social activist Asif Apatbandhava had led a protest demanding the dismantling of the “illegally” erected tollgate at NITK on National Highway-66.

He had refused to give up his protest or budge from the toll plaza, following which the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) filed a complaint against him.

Based on the complaint he was taken into custody on Monday.

Police commissioner N Shashi Kumar confirmed the Asif’s detention and said that he had been taken for further interrogation.

Though several protests have been held in the past demanding closure or merger of the NITK toll gate with the one at Hejamady, the government has not yet taken any action on the issue.

Asif had sat in a slush-filled pit to draw the attention of concerned authorities. He has said that the protest has been garnering support from various organizations and will continue till the toll gate is closed.

Asif then saw himself being buried in the ground, a day after he held a mock funeral of himself over the tollgate issue at NITK.

He has been attracting attention with his daily theatrical protests.

Toll being collected at Mukka and Hejamadi, even though both are only a few kilometers apart has angered the locals. Repeated petitions to the NHAI and the central government have fallen on deaf ears, many locals opined.

Asif has claimed that toll staff is not only looting people but also indulging in hooliganism against motorists. He has vowed not to stop the agitation unless the injustice is stopped.

It may also be recalled that group of transgenders allegedly attacked social activist ‘Apatbhandhava’ Asif, who has been protesting in a unique manner for the removal of the toll gate near NITK here for the past few days.