Holi: 2,500 motorists challaned for drunken driving

Around 2,500 motorists were challaned for drunken driving and their licences seized in the national capital during Holi and the evening preceding the festival as police conducted a special drive.

Police today booked more than 5,600 motorists between 8 AM and 4 PM for offences ranging from speeding and drunken driving to riding without helmet.

While 1,941 persons were booked today for drunken driving, 558 were challaned for the same offence yesterday evening within a few hours after the drive had started.

“In drunken driving cases, the licence of the offenders is seized for three months in keeping with a Supreme order,” said Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander.

Apart from drunken driving, 313 persons were prosecuted for speeding, 218 for dangerous driving, 2,129 for riding without helmet, 499 for triple riding, 130 for driving against the flow of traffic, etc., police said.

Meanwhile, in a road accident today on Panchkuian Road in central Delhi, a woman died after the motorbike on which she was riding pillion hit a metro pillar. Neither the woman nor the motorbike rider were wearing helmets, police said.

Delhi Traffic Police had pressed into service 2,500 officials divided into more than 400 teams as part of its special Holi drive.

Police also impounded as many as 1,085 vehicles for a range of offences today. Meanwhile, 639 licences were seized in cases other than drunken driving, an official said.