New Delhi / Drunk man riding two-wheeler without helmet fined Rs16,000, sets bike on fire

Furious over being challaned Rs 16,000 by the traffic police for driving drunk, not carrying any registration document and not wearing a helmet, a man set his two-wheeler on fire in south Delhi’s Chirag Delhi on Thursday evening.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (south) Parvinder Singh said they received a call at Malviya Nagar police station reporting that a motorcycle has been set on fire in Triveni Complex, Chirag Delhi.

“When a police team reached the spot, it was found that a team of Delhi traffic police was carrying out a checking against drunk driving. The traffic police staff told us that they had hailed one motorcycle rider who was driving without helmet. He was identified as Rakesh, a resident of Sarvodaya Enclave, who works at a restaurant in Hauz Khas. He was also drunk,” Singh said.

The traffic police officials asked him to show the documents of the vehicle. “They said he could not produce a valid registration document of the bike. Since he was also drunk and was not wearing a helmet, the policemen issued a challan (fine) accordingly,” Singh said.

As per the new law, Rakesh was slapped with a fine of Rs16,000 — Rs 10,000 for drunk driving, Rs 5,000 for driving without registration documents and Rs 1,000 for riding a two-wheeler without helmet.

Another police officer said, after issuing the fine, when the traffic police were impounding the man’s motorcycle he got furious. “Initially, he resisted and then kicked his motorcycle. As the vehicle fell on the road, he pulled its fuel pipe, spilling the petrol. Before the policemen could control him, he took out a matchbox and set the bike on fire,” the officer said requesting anonymity.

The man was overpowered by the police team and was later taken to Malviya Nagar police station and a case was registered against him.

Though the amended Motor Vehicles Act was implemented across the country on September 1, Delhi is still waiting for a notification from the Delhi government which will clarify the details of ‘compounding challans’. Compounding challans are the fines that can be cleared by violators on the spot.