Twist in Bawankule Audi drunk driving case: Man driving car was ‘drunk in permissible limit’, says report

An officer from Nagpur police said, “The blood alcohol report was submitted by the forensic laboratory which says that his blood alcohol level was between 20 and 28 mg/100 ml. As per law, a person can be charged if blood alcohol is above 30 mg per 100 ml.” When asked if the charge of drunk driving will be dropped, the officer said, “We will seek legal opinion in the matter.”

Apart from the drunk driving charge, the police had also booked Haware for dangerous driving, causing an accident and injuries. Since the car was in the name of Sanket and he was in the vehicle, Opposition had demanded that Sanket too be charged in the case.

However, since the driver himself will not be charged under Section 185 of the MV Act, it would be difficult to book Sanket, an official said.

Initially, the police had said that during his medical test on the night of the accident, doctors had said that prima facie Haware had consumed alcohol. An officer said, “There is a difference between consuming alcohol and being under its influence which affects your driving ability. Hence there has been a limit of 30 mg per 100 ml mentioned in the law.”

The incident took place in Nagpur around 1 am on Monday after the three occupants of the car dined at a bar and restaurant before zipping towards Ramdaspeth on Sunday night. The Audi first collided with a four wheeler and then with a moped, leaving two youths riding it injured.

The Audi then struck some more vehicles moving towards the Mankapur area following which occupants of a car chased down the driver who was taken to the police station. Sanket had fled from the spot.