Delhi Police will nab intoxicated Metro passengers engaging in disorderly conduct this festival season. Police say a significant increase in drunken passengers misbehaving with fellow passengers has spurred them into action. The number of intoxicated passengers caught by police is five times higher compared with last year. In 2011, police arrested 107 passengers, but this year (till December 11), that number has gone up to 527.

“We have strengthened patrolling and our men are quick to catch a passenger misbehaving while drunk. As a result, this time the number is higher and we will continue the drive because the party season is on us,” Sanjay Bhatia, DCP (railways), said. As per the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (Operation and Maintenance) Act, passengers misbehaving while under the influence of alcohol can be fined Rs. 250.

Bhatia said police personnel are deployed in civilian clothes in all six lines of the Metro coverage area to keep vigil. For Christmas and New Year’s day, Delhi Police have formed six teams to conduct random checks.