Tension prevailed in Singaperumal Koil during the early hours of Sunday after passengers of a government bus found that the driver was drunk.
According to the police, over 50 passengers boarded the TNSTC bus under the Villupuram Transport Corporation (TN 32 N 4540) to Tiruchi from the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Koyambedu.
Rash driving
The driver, Durairaj, 53, and the conductor, Prabhakaran, were on duty. “After the bus left the terminus, passengers found that the bus was being driven rashly. Some passengers complained that the side mirror hit a vehicle coming in the opposite direction,” said a police officer from the Maraimalai Nagar police station.
Suspecting that Durairaj was drunk, they raised the issue with conductor Prabahakaran, but there was no response.
When the bus reached Singaperumal Koil, the passengers forced the driver to stop the vehicle and alerted the police.
Breathalyser test
The nearest patrol vehicle reached the spot and made the driver take a breathalyser test. “The driver and the conductor were inebriated. We filed a drunken driving case against the driver. I spoke to TNSTC officials and arranged another bus for the passengers,” said B. Selvam, inspector, Maraimalai Nagar.
Due to the alert passengers, a potential accident was averted, the police said.
“We were shocked to find that the driver was drunk. He claimed that he had alcohol the previous day,” the inspector said.
