873 drink and drive cases registered in Pune on new year

While Pune police recorded 873 cases, the Pimpri Chinchwad police recorded 119 cases between 9pm and 5am

Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police collectively registered closed to 1,000 cases of drunk driving by people welcoming the new year. The number of cases recorded in 2018 is much less than 2017, even as the police force got divided into two parts - Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.

Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police collectively registered closed to 1,000 cases of drunk driving by people welcoming the new year. (Hindustan Times)

While Pune police recorded 873 cases, the Pimpri Chinchwad police recorded 119 cases between 9pm and 5am. Tejaswi Satpute, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, Pune, was on the streets till 5am with her personnel who were part of the 6000 strong team assigned for bandobast. The city police had 72 breathalysers and were deployed on 52 spots all over the city. Of the 100 new breathalysers promised by the Pune Municipal Corporation, only 25 were provided to the police along with 47 existing ones.

The number of people who were booked in Pune will be added to the list of 14,972 people who were caught in the past year for drinking and driving.

Of the 22 traffic divisions, the maximum number of drinking and driving cases were recorded by Yerawada division which had 93 riders along with 9 drivers who had consumed alcohol above permissible limit. Yerawada was followed by Dattawadi which recorded 74 riders and 13 drivers who were legally drunk. The third highest number was from Bharti Vidyapeeth division which recorded 46 riders and 6 drivers. Collectively, the Pune police recorded drunken driving cases against 693 riders and 180 drivers. In addition to that, the Pimpri Chinchwad police recorded 119 cases of drunken driving during the same hours.

Last year, when Pimpri Chinchwad was in Pune city police’s jurisdiction, the number of drunken driving cases were 1,144. The maximum number of cases were recorded from Hinjewadi area in 2017. The collective number of cases from Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad is less than the total number of cases recorded in 2017 when the entire area was under one commissioner’s jurisdiction.