Cracking the whip against drunken driving, the Guntur Urban Police have started registered cases under stringent sections of the IPC, under which the convicted could attract two years of imprisonment with a hefty fine.
“We will register cases under section 304 (A) against those driving under the influence of alcohol for causing death of other persons by rash or negligent acts not amounting to culpable homicide. Convicted persons could be sentenced to two years of imprisonment,’’ said Superintendent of Police, Guntur Urban, Sarva Sresth Tripathi. Until recently, violators charged with drunken driving under sections 181 and 170 of Motor Vehicle Act used to get away by paying compoundable penalty but a Supreme Court order in 2012 directed the police to charge violators under stringent IPC section 304 (2), which can lead to imprisonment of up to 10 years.
During the last three months, the urban police booked 702 cases of drunken driving of which, 486 cases have been disposed. More than 200 cases were under investigation and in 19 cases, the accused were convicted.
In a road accident which took place in February, 2012, a lorry driver, Mandru Prakash, who was driving under the influence of alcohol hit Turaka Anjaneyulu, a motor cyclist at Takkellapadu. The motor cyclist was killed on the spot. Prakash was convicted by sixth additional magistrate of causing the accident leading to the death of the person and he was sentenced to six months of imprisonment and was imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000.
In an another incident, an auto driver caught with exceeding limits of alcohol was sentenced to 18 days of jail.
