Drink driving goes down
Only 66 people challaned, a relatively low figure, police say, reports Nivedita Khandekar.
Have Dilliwallas turned pious during this ongoing Navratras and are they abstaining from drinking? Yes, if one were to go by the relatively few number of people prosecuted for driving after drinking is any indication.
Sixty-six persons were prosecuted for driving in an inebriated state during a special weekend drive in New Delhi, south Delhi and southwest Delhi on Friday night and these figures are relatively low, police say.
Of these, 46 people were prosecuted drinking then driving at the India Gate C-hexagon. A total of 178 persons –– both two and four wheeler drivers –– were prosecuted during the drive that was held for about two hours from 11 pm.
“Possibly, because of Navratras, more and more people are abstaining from drinking. That might be the reason for relatively less number of prosecutions for mixing drinking and driving,” DCP (Traffic) New Delhi range Suvashish Chaudhary.
One person was booked under IPC 279 for dangerous driving (“the driver didn’t stop his car and tried to hit a cop”) while 100 others were booked for the same offence under Motor Vehicle Act. Other prosecutions included those for not wearing seat belts and not wearing helmets. Even a police staffer was challaned for riding pillion without a helmet.
One of those challaned was a beacon-bearing car belonging to a Member of Parliament and a former Union Minister. “An MP is not entitled to a red light atop his car. Moreover, he (name withheld) was not in the car but his family was,” Chaudhary said.
Meanwhile, during a similar drive in south Delhi and southwest Delhi, 20 persons were prosecuted for drink driving. The drive was held around PVR Anupam in Saket, Hyatt hotel, Priya Complex and some other places, DCP (Traffic) Southern Range Rupinder Kumar said.
Asked what is being done to educate people on the issue, Kumar said, “We regularly distribute literature, insert advertisements in newspapers and also appeal to people on the radio. These activities have surely helped in increasing awareness levels.”