5 months ago
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Drunk driving cases successful Bengaluru crossed the 30,000 people successful 2025, registering a crisp emergence aft 5 years arsenic the metropolis postulation constabulary stepped up enforcement, information shows.
According to the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) data, the constabulary booked 38,919 cases successful 2025, a 62.16% summation compared to 2024, erstwhile 24,000 cases were booked. The constabulary registered 6,993 cases successful 2023 and 26,000 cases successful 2022.
Karthik Reddy, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), attributed the emergence to accrued enforcement of drunk driving checks pursuing an investigation of mishap trends. “When we scrutinised the numbers, fatal accidents owed to drunk driving were precise high. So we resorted to cracking down connected offenders,” helium told The Hindu.
A. Anoop Shetty, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West, Traffic), added that the crisp emergence successful 2025 was besides owed to the December crackdown, during which the constabulary booked implicit 6,000 cases.
In 2022, the BTP introduced the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), which importantly reduced numbers successful 2023, arsenic contactless fines were prioritised. However, the constabulary aboriginal shifted absorption aft noticing a wide emergence successful drunk driving.
East Bengaluru tops the chart
According to ASTraM data, successful 2025 (till the extremity of November), Jeevan Bima Nagar topped the illustration with 1,491 drunk driving cases, followed by Bellandur (999), H.S.R. Layout (984), Airport (884), and K.R. Puram (870).
Sahil Bagla, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East, Traffic), told The Hindu that 100 Feet Road successful Indiranagar, which falls nether the Jeevan Bima Nagar constabulary station, sees important violations, contributing to the precocious numbers. “A batch of resto bars and pubs are located successful the area, which could beryllium a reason. In general, determination is accrued enforcement successful the area,” helium said.
Another elder serviceman from the jurisdiction added that galore radical from Koramangala, aft partying, usage roads nether the Jeevan Bima Nagar jurisdiction to scope eastbound Bengaluru, adding to the violations.
Further, Gopal M. Byakod told The Hindu that Bellandur witnesses a spike successful cases during weekends, mostly involving tech professionals.
Prepare for licence suspension successful 2026
However, Mr. Reddy admitted that licence suspension remained low, for which a caller program has been chalked out.
In 2026, the constabulary person warned violators to expect suspension of their driving licence if they are caught drunk driving
Usually, first-time drunk driving offenders look a good of ₹10,000 and spot seizure of the vehicle, on with suspension of their driving licences. To evade suspension, violators often amusement a photograph of the licence connected their telephone and question clip to nutrient the original. Despite follow-ups, lone a fewer taxable the licence, portion others flight action.
Under the existing system, the constabulary indispensable nonstop the archetypal driving licence to the Transport Department for suspension. As offenders resisted submitting their licences, the suspension complaint fell beneath 15% successful 2025, contempt implicit 38,000 challans being issued.
To code this, the BTP and the Transport Department, successful the involvement of roadworthy safety, person agreed connected mandatory suspension adjacent utilizing photocopies oregon integer copies of driving licences.
Mr. Reddy explained that the Transport Department has requested the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to equip the Saarathi login, utilized by the constabulary to find violations, with an enactment to show suspended licences.
Accordingly, erstwhile the postulation constabulary initiate licence suspension, the Transport Department volition upload the details successful its database. If violators are caught again and contiguous a suspended licence, officers tin verify the presumption done the application, starring to caller cases being booked.
The constabulary person adopted strategical checkpoint placement alternatively of vague planning. Mr. Shetty explained, “A idiosyncratic travelling from Silk Board to northbound Bengaluru should not look aggregate checkpoints, which would magnitude to harassment. We travel a tactical attack to place hotspots and enforce the law.”
Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh noted that with strategical and planned enforcement, drunk driving checks would summation further successful 2026, and repetition offenders would look hefty penalties.
