BHUBANESWAR: At a time when police have turned a blind eye to rampant drunk driving violations, an inspector-rank officer sustained grievous injuries after his two-wheeler was allegedly hit by a speeding car driven by a person under the influence of alcohol, here on Saturday night.
The accused, 38-year-old Deepak Kumar Pattanayak, has been arrested. The injured, Dayanidhi Nayak, is the inspector-in-charge (IIC) of Capital police station. He sustained serious injuries on his head, hands and chest and was initially rushed to the Capital Hospital from where he was later shifted to a private healthcare institution.
The incident took place at around 11.30 pm in Badagada area when Nayak was returning to his workplace after having dinner at his quarters. Though Pattanayak had fled after the incident, police swung into action and nabbed him a few minutes later.
Sources said his blood alcohol test was conducted and the liquor concentration in his body was found to be very high. “In India, the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration while driving is 30 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. Pattanayak’s breath analyser test detected about 104 mg liquor per 100 ml in his body. A case was registered against him under various sections of BNS and Motor Vehicles Act and he was arrested,” said Bhubanewar DCP, Jagmohan Meena.
Police said Pattanayak is a native of Delanga and was staying in Laxmisagar area. He was working as a manager with a private financial services firm here. Police seized the car involved in the accident.
Though police are conducting checking of certain violations, drunk driving surveillance has remained largely insignificant in the city in the last few months. “There was a time when people feared to drive under the influence of alcohol due to stringent enforcement. However, no such checking is being conducted now,” said a local resident.