Kolkata Police has ordered traffic guards across the city to change the locations of drink-driving checkpoints every night in the run-up to Durga Puja, following a multi-vehicle collision in Sinthi that left a truck driver seriously injured. The enforcement plan includes flying squads that will move between locations to identify and stop intoxicated riders and drivers.
A Lalbazar officer told The Times of India that, in addition to two regular nakas, each traffic guard is keeping one or two flying squads. These teams will change locations to make the checks less predictable and to catch motorists driving under the influence.
The order follows a crash on Kalicharan Ghosh Road under Sinthi Police Station at around 11.40 pm on Monday. According to the police account cited in the report, Siddhanta Mukherjee was driving a car while heavily intoxicated when it first collided with a cab coming from the opposite direction. The impact pushed the cab into another private car travelling behind it.
The collision heavily damaged the front portions of all three cars. Md Irfan Qureshi, a truck driver who was injured in the impact, was taken to R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment according to the report. The incident brought renewed attention to late-night drink-driving risks on city roads, particularly during a period when police are increasing enforcement ahead of the festival season.
Sinthi Police Station registered a case following a suo-motu complaint. The case was filed under Sections 281, 125(b) and 324(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 184 and 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act. The provisions cited by police include offences related to dangerous driving and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The police strategy combines fixed checkpoints with mobile enforcement. While the regular nakas provide continuing surveillance at established locations, the flying squads are intended to shift across the city each night. The Lalbazar instruction places responsibility on traffic guards to maintain the additional mobile teams as the city approaches Durga Puja.
The immediate operational focus is on detecting intoxicated motorists before they can continue through the road network. The next phase of enforcement will involve the nightly deployment of the changing nakas and flying squads by traffic guards across Kolkata.
