NY Stories: Driver Who Tore Clothes, Mystery Man Who Disappeared

Hyderabad: Police manning the drunk driving check posts were entertained not a bit by the antics of inebriated drivers as the city entered the New Year. The night was largely incident-free, and police of the tri-commissionerates of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda booked 2,731 persons for drunk driving.

The figures reflect a decrease of 527 cases compared to the 3,258 cases registered during the previous year's festivities. City police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar credited this decline to the week-long awareness campaign and a crackdown on narcotics and drunk driving.

Sajjanar later tweeted: "Thank you, Hyderabad, for an incident-free New Year." “Hyderabad ne dikhaya - celebration ho sakta, bina risk ke. Hamesha yaad rakho - nasha aur steering ek saath nai, " commissioner said. "Nasha + steering = khatra."

The special enforcement drive, from 7 pm on Wednesday to 3 am on Thursday, resulted in 1,198 cases in Hyderabad, 928 in Cyberabad, and 605 in Malkajgiri.

In nine zones of Hyderabad commissionerate, two-wheeler riders were the primary violators with 1,042 cases, followed by 105 car drivers and 51 autorickshaw operators.

Police revealed that 17 individuals in the city were driving with dangerously high liquor levels exceeding 300 micrograms of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.

In the Malkajgiri limits, most violations were reported from LB Nagar, Vanasthalipuram, Uppal, and Kushaiguda, with eight individuals crossing the 300 BAC mark.

The night was also marked by high drama created by drunk drivers after being caught at several checkpoints. During checks at Nampally, a youth fell at the feet of officers and appealed to be let off. He was taken to the police station.

At Malakpet, an intoxicated youth demanded that the police drop him home in a patrol van after his vehicle was seized.

In Vanasthalipuram, a man lay down in the middle of the road and refused to move. He claimed he was not drunk, and that the police had assaulted him. He then escaped, leading the traffic police to lodge a complaint with the Vanasthalipuram police.

A senior traffic police official clarified that the person was not the driver but was the associate of the motorist who was caught drunk. "His associate began to create nuisance," the official said.

He added that, anticipating possible trouble during intensive checks, law and order police personnel were also assisting traffic teams on the ground.

D. Joel Davis, joint commissioner of traffic, Hyderabad said that the primary objective was to deter motorists from driving under the influence and to ensure that revellers reached their destinations safely.

At Cyberabad, the highest number of cases, 102, were booked in the Miyapur traffic police limits, followed by RC Puram (84), Raidurgam (77) and Gachibowli (74). The offenders included 695 two-wheeler riders. At 477, motorists aged between 21-30 were the largest group of offenders.

Cyberabad police said the New Year celebrations passed off without major incidents due to close monitoring by senior officers and field-level enforcement. A free shuttle service operated from major party hubs to metro stations and cab pick-up points helped ease congestion.