HYDERABAD: Noted television anchor and actor Machiraju Pradeep, who was caught during a drive against drunken driving in the city on the night of December 31, was on Friday convicted by a court which suspended his driving licence for three years and imposed a penalty of Rs 2,100 on him for the offence. Pradeep was caught driving his BMW car in an inebriated condition by the Jubilee Hills police.
Police conducted special drives across the city to check drunken driving after the new year eve festivities and caught Pradeep whose blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level showed 178 mg. The car was seized and Pradeep was asked to attend mandatory counselling by the police. Pradeep, after a delay of over a week, attended the counselling along with his father then and attended the court on Friday.
Coming out of the court premises, Pradeep said the court asked him how he could drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol when he himself had campaigned on the ill effects of drunken driving. “I admitted to my mistake and said that my driver was not available on that day. I also promised not to commit such mistake in future,’’ Pradeep said.