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Cops harass doc over breath test
The traffic police’s campaign against drunk driving came under fire after a doctor alleged that he was subjected to harassment after he refused to blow into a breathalyzer, saying that it had already been used.
The traffic police’s campaign against drunk driving came under fire after a doctor alleged that he was subjected to harassment after he refused to blow into a breathalyzer, saying that it had already been used.
Dr Ajay K Sharma, a resident of DLF City, said he was detained for about an hour and released only at midnight when he refused the test.
“As I reached near Bristol Chowk, I was stopped by the cops. They wanted me to take the equipment into my mouth which I resisted as it was clearly already used. The cops pulled me out of the car following an altercation,” Sharma said.
While the city police claim to maintain high hygiene standards in conducting the tests, many commuters have their reservations.
The department is facing shortage of straws used to take the test. It recently demanded 10,000 alcohol-meter pipes from the higher authority. In January, they had asked for 2,500 pipes which have not been supplied as yet.
Currently, the police department receives about 1,000 pipes a month.
“The disposable straw on top of the devices can infect a person if re-used. We have not received the pipes since few months,” said a traffic police officer on condition of anonymity.
The traffic police fined 14,600 (1,216) people last year for drunk driving.
