Dr Rao from Karnataka was in for a rude shock when he found that his debit card was swiped at the Gundmi toll gate on Kochi-Mumbai National Highway for INR 4 lakhs instead of the mandatory INR 40.
Dr Rao was travelling in his chauffeur driven car to Mumbai when he stopped at the toll gate around 18 kms from Udupi to pay off the toll charges. The incident occurred at 10.30 pm when the doctor handed over his debit card to the toll attendant.
Apparently the toll attendant was sleepy and punched in INR 4 lakhs instead of INR 40. He then handed over the card and POS receipt to the doctor who was about to proceed on his way when he noted a text message that read that INR 4 lakhs was debited from his account.
The doctor brought this to the notice of the toll gate staff that refused to take note of the issue and blatantly refused to own responsibility for their mistake. The arguments went on for 2 hours as the doctor tried desperately to retrieve his lost money. Failing to get any attention from the toll attendants, the doctor went on to the police station at Kota, 5 kms from the toll stop where he lodged a complaint at 1 am.
The doctor and police constable then returned to the toll plaza where the attendant finally admitted his mistake of entering the wrong amount. He offered to pay the doctor by cheque but relented when the doctor demanded the entire amount in cash. A sum of INR 3,99,960 was paid in cash at 4 am from the collection of toll fees of around INR 8 lakhs that is collected each day at the Gundmi gate toll plaza.
It is to be noted that the Doctor is also at fault here. He should have checked the amount before entering his PIN and allowing the toll booth operator to swipe his card. Let this be a lesson for all of out there. Drive / Ride safe.
