Raids across the city late on Saturday and early on Sunday led to the arrest of 155 people on the charge of drink driving.

Around a thousand people were booked for riding two-wheelers without a helmet and another 105 for rash driving.

“More than 300 litres of illicit liquor were seized during the raid,” an officer said.

The cops also arrested 205 people against whom non-bailable warrants had been issued by courts.

The raids, which continued from 9pm on Saturday till 1am on Sunday, was the first of its kind since the first week of this year, several police officers told Metro.

“The last time such a raid across Calcutta was conducted was around New Year’s Eve,” said an officer of Calcutta police. “These raids are different from the daily or weekly checks that are conducted to catch errant drivers.”

The Telegraph

Police sources said drink driving was a problem across Calcutta. Despite repeated appeals by the police, many people drive cars or ride two-wheelers in a drunken state.

Cops usually stop motorists who they suspect to be intoxicated. The suspects are then asked to breathe into a breathalyser to ascertain the amount of liquor consumed.

“The limit is 30mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. If the breathalyser reading is found to be more than that, the person can be taken into custody,” the officer said.

Police sources said another purpose of the raids was to get hold of illegal arms and execute warrants issued by the courts. “We have arrested 205 people against whom non-bailable warrants were pending,” another officer said.

An officer at Lalbazar said the seized liquor was mostly illegally distilled. “Besides, an individual cannot carry more than six bottles of liquor and he must be able to produce the receipt if police ask for it,” the officer said. The cops booked 509 cases involving more than two passengers riding a two-wheeler and 52 people were rounded up as a preventive measure.