Mumbai Sees Alarming Spike in Drunk Driving Incidents

Mumbai Police and the Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP) have increased their efforts against underage drinking and drunk driving. Last week, they launched campaigns targeting bars, pubs, liquor stores, and hookah parlours. The goal was to make sure that minors were not served alcohol or drugs.

During the campaign, over 50 pubs and bars were raided. Five of them were involved in illegal activities. A pub in Powai and a lounge in Dadar were serving alcohol to minors. The management and staff at these places were subjected to disciplinary action.

The police have also been strict with drunk drivers. A total of 2,502 drivers were penalised under the Motor Vehicle Act from January to May 28. The penalties for first-time offenders include two years in prison or a fine of INR 3,000. For repeat offenders, the penalty is either six months in jail or a fine of INR 2,000.

The police are planning to conduct more operations to maintain traffic discipline and reduce accidents. This year, 74 minors have been arrested for underage driving so far. The penalty for underage driving has been increased from INR 500 to INR 25,000 with action on the parents and even cancelling the vehicle's registration.

The cops also conducted surprise operations. It detained 442 drunk drivers and 23 minors driving without a valid license and under the influence of alcohol. Immediate action was taken against all offenders.

Despite this, many such cases get stuck in jurisdiction, with perpetrators getting bail, as seen in the Pune Porche incident. In Mumbai, two tragic accidents involving drunk driving were reported in March 2023.

On March 5, 2023, a three-year-old child was killed when a senior executive of an Indian MNC crashed his car into multiple vehicles while under the influence of alcohol. The perpetrator got conditional bail within 3 days after the incident.

On March 10, 2023, a jogger named Rajalakshmi 'Raji' Ramakrishnan was hit and killed by an employee of an event management firm. Raji served as the CEO of Altruist Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a software company with over 14,000 employees. The Sessions Court released the perpetrator on bail after 2.5 months.

Both cases are currently in the pre-trial phase.