The Mumbai Police is making efforts to curb drunk driving in the city, but so far, nothing concrete has been achieved. The five-fold increase in fines has also not deterred city motorists as the number of people apprehended while driving under the influence has quadrupled.

This has forced Mumbai Police to file FIRs against those found driving vehicles in a drunken state, taking steps to cancel their driving licenses and impound their vehicles.

According to an HT report, the Mumbai traffic police caught 2,562 drunk drivers. In 2024, the number of intoxicated drivers caught by the Mumbai traffic police spiked to 9,462. This rise was surprisingly high as the fine in that year went up from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 for the first offence and Rs 15,000 for subsequent offences.

Anil Kumbhare, joint commissioner of traffic police, said, "We have observed that the penalty amount is not enough to deter drunk drivers, and therefore we have now started registering FIRs under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Motor Vehicles Act and cancelling driving licenses as well."

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In the first three months of 2024, Kumbhare said that 1,356 drivers were apprehended while driving in a drunken state during the nakabandis across the city. The action against drink and drive became more intensified. However, this year, the number has risen again. In the first three months of 2025, the number of cases increased to 2,264.

This has prompted the traffic police to register FIRs, and in the first two weeks of April, they conducted a special drive and registered 103 FIRs. Their names were publicised on the traffic police's social media accounts, and their licenses were sent for cancellation to the Transport Department.

Another senior official said, "Now, we will start impounding the vehicles of those caught driving under the influence of alcohol."

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