Drunk driving claims one more life in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Drunk driving continues to claim lives in Hyderabad. Three women travelling on a two-wheeler were knocked down by a car at Jubilee Hills road number 10 in wee hours of Sunday by a man driving under influence of alcohol. While one woman died on the spot, another has been declared brain dead. The third woman suffered multiple fractures.

The accused, play school owner Vishnuvardhan Reddy, tried to flee from the spot but crashed into a road divider 100 metres away and was caught by the police. The injured women have been admitted to Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills.

Vishnuvaradhan was returning from a party in Kondapur when his car rammed a bike from behind, and the women were thrown into the air. Death was instant for Mastani (35), while Priya (34) suffered critical injury to head and has been declared brain dead. Anusha (19) suffered fractures to both her legs. All three women have been identified as natives of Tadepalligudem in AP.

The traffic police were at the accident spot till 15 minutes before the incident checking for drunken driving. “About 77 persons including 27 four-wheelers were caught at the spot. But since the checking is dynamic, we moved,” said police.

Despite initiatives, awareness on drunk driving — or a sense of responsibility — seems to be lacking in the city, feel police. According to 2017 data, as many as 38,207 people were caught for drunk driving in the city and a whopping 7,571 were punished by courts.  Though technical evidence in drunk driving cases is considered for swift judgement, the same is not applied when the case is registered under IPC. “Drunk driving is considered as a violation under MV Act. The cases booked under the particular Act are considered as Summary Trial Cases and are disposed at once with the available evidences,” explained a senior cop.

“The police are doing massive checks against drunk driving. Some motorists wait till the drives conclude and then hit the roads in a hurry to get home, and end up in accidents. The Jubilee Hills case is an example for this,” added another official.