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Drunken Revelries Claim 13 Lives in Indian Capital

by Gopalan on Mar 24 2008 2:19 PM

The spring festival of Holi turned a near disaster for some in the Indian capital of New Delhi as 13 persons are killed in drunken revelries Friday.

Police said they fined 319 motorists for driving in an inebriated state on the day of Holi alone, a huge jump from the average of 10 caught for drink driving every day.

Besides, a whopping 3,185 commuters were ticketed for various traffic violations; 500 were booked for jumping signals. Police also registered criminal cases and arrested seven people for rash and negligent driving.

On Saturday, city roads virtually turned into a death trap as people hit the roads drunk, jumped signals and crossed speed limits. “It’s very obvious people are not taking adequate precautions. I don’t understand why they risk their lives and also that of others,” said S.N. Srivastava, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic).

At south Delhi’s Ashram, three people were charred to death after the tempo in which they were travelling in skidded and caught fire. The passengers and the driver were both drunk, police said, the Hindustan Times reports.

In west Delhi, four people fell off a flyover and died after the tempo they were travelling in overturned. The driver reportedly dozed off after a hectic day.

Six others died in binge drinking, it is said.

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Source-Medindia
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