Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh): A video surfaced on Sunday showing former BJP MLA Radheshyam Patidar slapping and pushing a toll plaza manager during a heated confrontation on June 25 in Mandsaur.
The disturbing footage reveals Patidar, dressed in kurta-pajama, striking the toll employee multiple times before forcefully pushing him aside. The incident stems from events beginning June 22, when disputes arose at Kherkheda toll plaza on Sitamau-Suwasra Road.
Initially, Patidar's tractor passed through the toll booth, with the driver refusing payment citing agricultural goods exemption. Toll employees demanded payment, leading to argument before the tractor departed.
Later that same day, District Panchayat president Durga Patidar, the former MLA's daughter-in-law, travelled from Mandsaur to her Guradia Vijay residence. She subsequently filed a complaint with SP Abhishek Anand on June 22, accusing toll employees of misconduct.
In her complaint, Durga Patidar alleged that toll workers forcibly detained her vehicle for five to eight minutes without justification. She claimed employees used abusive language and made obscene gestures when her driver and personal assistant attempted communication. The situation escalated when the toll staff demanded her to lower her car's rear window.
Another video from the same period shows additional disputes between people on a tractor, reportedly belonging to the former MLA and the toll management staff.
Toll plaza manager Ketan Upadhyay refused to comment to media persons, stating that the incident speaks for itself. However, Radheshyam Patidar defended his actions, calling them ‘counselling’ rather than violence.
He claimed that the toll manager habitually misbehaves with women travellers, justifying his intervention to protect his daughter-in-law's dignity. The former MLA insisted he would respond similarly to protect any woman facing such treatment, not just his family members.
