At least six private bus owners in Raiganj were injured after being allegedly attacked by some employees of a private agency running a toll plaza and local goons following a row over toll charges on Saturday.

Three are admitted to Raiganj Government Medical College and Hospital.

Bus owners of North Dinajpur district have decided to halt bus services from Sunday “indefinitely in protest”, which has the administration worried as around 250 buses on January 31 are to carry around 12,000 beneficiaries to a public distribution event of chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Malda’s Gazole.

Sources said a toll plaza has come up on NH12 at Panishala near the town. On Friday midnight, the private agency running the plaza started collecting fees from vehicles crossing the stretch.

On Saturday, when a private bus from Raiganj reached the plaza while on way to Siliguri, employees asked for fees. As the bus driver and conductor opposed it, toll plaza employees intercepted the vehicle.

Then, some private bus owners reached the spot. After a heated exchange, violence erupted.

Plaban Pramanik, secretary of Raiganj Bus and Minibus Owners’ Association, who ended up with a fractured left leg in the attack, alleged they didn’t know the plaza was running, they were not consulted over fees and were attacked with bamboo sticks and shovels.

“We won’t run our buses till the attackers are arrested,” he said.

Toll plaza staff claimed some private bus owners threatened their staff and assaulted them.

Om Bihari, the project director in charge of the Malda division of NHAI, said they put out advertisements and informed the administration about the toll plaza’s operations.

Raiganj SDO Kinsuk Pramanik said NHAI did not tell them the date from when the toll plaza would be operational.