SETC bus driver held for drunken driving, let off

CHENNAI: A

State Express Transport Corporation

bus driver was arrested and let off on Friday after he was found driving under the influence of alcohol.

The bus, carrying 30 passengers from Nagapattinam to Chennai, hit a parked autorickshaw at Palavakkam on East Coast Road (ECR). Following this, motorists chased the bus and nabbed the driver, Maharajan, 35, of Tiruchendur. Maharajan was chewing tobacco when public caught him, an investigation officer said, quoting sources. One of the people who caught Maharajan told police he suspected the driver was drunk, as he saw the bus moving haphazardly on the road before ramming the auto rickshaw.

On information, a team from the

Adyar traffic

investigation wing rushed to the spot and detained him. He was sent to a government hospital to get a doctor certificate to confirm that he was under the influence of alcohol. A case was registered under the IPC Section 279 (rash driving on a public way) and Section 185 (drunken driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Following the incident, police alerted SETC officials and they sent an alternative driver, who drove the bus from

Tiruvanmiyur to Koyambedu

and dropped the passengers. Traffic police have also recommended that the transport authorities suspend Maharajan's driving licence.
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