Police keep vigil on drunken-drivers in traditional way after govt refrains usage of breathe-analysers

Aurangabad, Feb 11:

To avoid the spread of Coronavirus infection, the state government had refrained the police from using breathe analysers. The devices are lying in the stores, but the cops keep an eye on the drivers driving their vehicles in a drunken state and are taking action against them in an old and traditional way.

In 2020, the police had filed 303 cases against drunk drivers from January to March. It includes 143 in January, 93 in February and 67 in March. However, this year the number of cases is negligible.

It may be noted that driving vehicle in a drunken state is a crime as the accident takes the life of innocent persons. The police use analyser mainly on December 31st night to avoid accidents and save lives. The driver has to blow air in the apparatus through his mouth. Hence sensing the seriousness of Covid-19 and evade its spreading, the state government had refrained the police from using analyser since April, 2020. The police have not received any fresh order in this regard. As a result, the devices are lying unused in their stores.

Before introducing analysers, the police would use to take the suspect driver to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for medical examination. The doctors would send his blood sample to the laboratory for testing, and on the basis of the lab report, the case would use to be filed against the driver in the court. However, the strength of cases was very negligible, said the sources.

The beer bars were totally closed for four months during the lockdown. Accordingly, the sale of liquor reduced by 40 per cent. However, the police had registered many cases connected with illegal sale and transportation of country alcohol produced in the village during the lockdown.

According to the police inspector (traffic branch) Mukund Deshmukh, " The usage of breathe-analyser is not there, but if the police find any person driving in a drunken state, then the action is taken against him under section 185 at the nearest police station. The medical examination is held, and the doctor's report is submitted in the court as evidence."