Asked to pay toll, MLA PC George smashes barricade

THRISSUR: Poonjar MLA P C George smashed the stop barrier at Paliakkara toll plaza near here around midnight on Tuesday, apparently peeved over being asked to pay the toll. The staff managing the toll plaza said in a report filed with police that George got provoked when they blocked his vehicle and he sped away after smashing the barrier.
A CCTV video footage at the plaza also showed the MLA getting out of his car and damaging the barrier along with his aides.
George said the toll plaza staff insisted that he should pay the toll even after disclosing that he was an MLA. He also pointed out that his car had display boards both in the front and back and rules clearly state that MLAs need not pay toll.
He said he had waited in the car for a couple of minutes, hoping that the staff would open the toll gate for him to travel. He stepped out later and asked the staff to open the gate but they didn’t budge.