- Tragedy unfolds after drunken driving check in Hyderabad
- Auto rickshaw impounded as police act on breathalyzer test
A shocking incident occurred outside Kushaiguda traffic police station in Hyderabad on Tuesday night. A rented auto rickshaw driver, Singireddy Meen Reddy, reportedly set himself ablaze soon after police impounded his vehicle during a drunken driving check. The man, age 32, from Dammaiguda in Jawaharnagar, died hours later while undergoing treatment.
At around 7:30 pm, police stopped Meen Reddy’s auto near Cal Public School in Kapra. Officers, conducting routine drunken driving tests, signaled his vehicle to halt. Kushaiguda traffic inspector N Rama Laxmana Raju explained, “Meen Reddy Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) was 120 ml/100 mg in a breathalyzer test. Since he was drunk and there was no one else with him to drive the three wheeler, we shifted the vehicle to Kushaiguda traffic PS for safe custody.”
Later, Meen Reddy returned to the Kushaiguda traffic police station at around 9 pm. Multiple officers observed him loitering near the locked gate, looking at his impounded rental auto. According to Malkajgiri Inspector B Satyanarayana, “He loitered there two or three times between 8.30 pm and 9 pm. At around 9 pm, Reddy set himself ablaze on the road in front of the PS with petrol.”
The tragic sequence comes in the wake of ongoing campaigns against drunken driving in the city. Police efforts to detain vehicles when drivers are intoxicated are aimed at preventing accidents, but this event underscores the emotional distress faced by livelihood earners.
Singireddy Meen Reddy’s actions have sent ripples through the local community. Authorities have continued their investigation, focusing on the circumstances surrounding the incident and the sequence of events outside the police station. Meanwhile, the case highlights the tough realities auto drivers contend with, especially when faced with legal action over their vehicles.
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