Autorickshaw driver held for drink driving

A 23-year-old autorickshaw driver was sentenced to 40 days of imprisonment after he was found driving the rickshaw under the influence of alcohol and without a valid licence in Goregaon (East) on Saturday. Police officials said that it was the highest imprisonment awarded to any offender of drink driving.

A 23-year-old autorickshaw driver was sentenced to 40 days of imprisonment after he was found driving the rickshaw under the influence of alcohol and without a valid licence in Goregaon (East) on Saturday. Police officials said that it was the highest imprisonment awarded to any offender of drink driving.

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According to V Mule, senior inspector, Goregaon traffic outpost, the auto driver, Vakeel Shivkant Yadav, a resident of Jogeshwari (East), was caught behind the Pandurang Wadi area in Goregaon (East) at around 12.30am on Saturday.

Police officials said that they had organised a nakabandi just before the Goregaon East-West flyover to keep a check on drunken drivers. Yadav was found to be driving the rickshaw in plain clothes, and the traffic constables first confronted him for not wearing his uniform.

"When I asked him for his license, he could not produce it. He said that he had borrowed the rickshaw from a friend an hour before being caught and was going to start driving it on Saturday morning. Hence, he said, he did not have a license or uniform," said Jayant Kolte, a constable who was present at the spot when Yadav was caught.

"We impounded Yadav's vehicle and asked him to appear before the Borivli court on Saturday morning," said Mule.

Mule said that Yadav was initially charged a fine of Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 2,500 for drunken driving and Rs. 500 for not carrying a valid license. However, since he could not pay the fine amount, he was sentenced to 40 days of imprisonment in the Thane lock up. Yadav has been convicted under Motor Vehicles Act sections 185 for drunken driving and 181 for driving without a valid licence.