Mumbai woman locks herself in car after testing positive for alcohol

A drunk businesswoman from Worli locked herself in her car and yelled at traffic police constables and passers-by for close to two hours after a breathalyser test the police gave her at Bandra Reclamation turned out positive.

A drunk businesswoman from Worli locked herself in her car and yelled at traffic police constables and passers-by for close to two hours after a breathalyser test the police gave her at Bandra Reclamation turned out positive.

The incident took place exactly a week after the , following which the traffic police have been deploying women constables to crack down on women drivers who take to the wheel drunk.

Shivani Bali, 42, who lives at Worli sea face, was driving home from Bandra in her Hyundai i10 around 12.30 am. At Bandra Reclamation, she was halted by traffic policemen. When they approached her car, she tried to put it in reverse and flee, but was prevented from doing so. A woman constable suspected Bali was drunk and asked her to take a breathalyser test.

An official from the Bandra traffic outpost said Bali initially refused to step out of the vehicle but eventually did so when persuaded by the women constables.

The breathalyser test showed Bali had 81 mg alcohol per 100 ml blood, well above the permissible limit (30 mg per 100 ml). Bali was told she would have to pay a Rs-2,000 fine under the Motor Vehicles Act and surrender her driver’s license to the police.

“Bali refused to comply and got back into her car and locked herself inside. When we asked her to get out of the vehicle, she started yelling,” said a traffic policeman.

Meanwhile, a few journalists who happened to be driving by stopped at the checkpoint and started filming the incident. This further infuriated the woman, said a policeman.

It took the police more than an hour and a half to convince Bali to step out. She was taken to Bandra police station, where she was fined and allowed to go.

"She was penalised under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act (driving drunk) and Section 110 of the Bombay Police Act (indecent behaviour in public)," said Milind Bharambe, joint commissioner of police, traffic.

Apart from Rs 2,000 for driving drunk, Bali was fined Rs 1,200 for indecent behaviour.

She was told to appear before the Bandra metropolitan court on Tuesday but did not turn up. Her vehicle is currently in the custody of the police.