Pune police book 230 people for drunk driving

While deaths due to road mishaps continue to take place in the city with sickening regularity, drunk driving — a major cause of fatal mishaps — continues unabated in the city.

In a six-day special drive against drunk driving, which concluded on June 19, the Pune traffic police booked 230 people. Last year, 417 people lost their lives in over 1,000 road mishaps in the city. A major cause of these mishaps and deaths was drunk driving.

The traffic police officials said most of those booked for drunk driving in the latest drive were professionals and came from affluent families. The drive was carried out using breathalysers at predetermined spots in Koregaon Park, Chandni Chowk and others.

All those found drunk while driving were booked under section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. They will be summoned to the court and the police will produce their breathalyser reports.

The deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Vishwas Pandhare, said people have to desist from driving while under the influence of alcohol. “Cases against the offenders would be registered at the police stations concerned,” police inspector (administration) Vijaykumar Pansule told DNA.