Breath test plan in Bengal districts

TT, Oct. 14: Bengal police have decided to buy breathalysers for the force in each district following reports of an increase in the number of drink driving cases.

Police in Birbhum and Burdwan were given two machines each earlier this month while the force in East Midnapore received one in September.

Officers said the state police planned to cover all districts by next month.

A senior police officer in Birbhum said: "The police decided to buy the breathalysers because of an increase in the number of cars and two-wheelers in the district as well as a rise in the number of incidents linked to drink driving. We have observed a growing tendency to argue with the police among those who are hauled for drink driving."

Calcutta police have been using breathalysers for at least 10 years, officers said.

Sources said two officers each from Birbhum and Burdwan had gone to the traffic training school for Bengal police in Calcutta on October 6 for a day's training on how to use the breathalysers.

Quoting Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, a senior officer of the Bengal police directorate said a person can be imprisoned for up to six months or asked to pay a fine of Rs 2,000 if alcohol exceeding 30mg per 100ml is detected in the bloodstream through a breathalyser. Second, and subsequent offences can lead to imprisonment for two years or a fine of Rs 3,000, he added.

Before breathalysers were introduced in the districts, the police used crude methods such as manual sniffing and a medical examination to confirm if a driver was drunk. Now, only those whose tests show positive results in the breathalyser are subjected to a medical test at the hospital.

A doctor at Bolpur sub-divisional hospital said: "If the police bring someone to the hospital to find out whether he or she has consumed alcohol, we collect the saliva sample. But such tests often turn negative if the person is brought several hours after he has consumed alcohol."

Sources said Birbhum police had found at least 200 offenders over the past one month.

Although Birbhum police are yet to use the breathalysers, their counterparts in Burdwan have already used them during the Puja.

Burdwan superintendent of police Kunal Aggarwal said: "We have started cases against 72 people. This machine is very useful."

East Midnapore SP Alok Rajoria said: "We have been using the device since last month. We have started checking for offenders on the highways."