More than 300 persons were arrested in Kolkata and Bidhannagar for violating traffic rules on the eve of Republic Day on Thursday.
Among the violators were a large number two-wheeler-riders.
A senior officer of Kolkata police’s traffic department said 271 motorists were prosecuted for traffic rule violations, of whom 48 were prosecuted for drink driving and 124 two-wheeler-riders for riding without helmets.
In the Bidhannagar commissionerate area, around 30 persons were arrested on Thursday. They were picked up from Salt Lake, New Town, Rajarhat, Baguiati and Keshtopur, said an officer of the commissionerate.
“The majority of those arrested have been charged with the offence of driving under the influence of alcohol,” the officer said.
Kolkata police officers said a special drive was conducted on the Republic Day-eve against traffic rule violators. The majority of the prosecutions were reported from south and north Kolkata.
Multiple checkpoints were set up and vehicles were stopped at random.
A senior officer said the special drive had started on January 23 and continued till Republic Day.
The police said that on January 23 and 24, officers in the traffic wing prosecuted 535 motorists. Of them, 99 were booked for drink driving and more than 200 two-wheeler-riders for driving without helmets.
According to records of Kolkata police, after pedestrians, two-wheeler-riders account for the maximum number of road accident fatalities in the city.
In 2022, of the 185 persons who lost their lives in road accidents in Kolkata, the majority were pedestrians, followed by motorcyclists and pillion-riders.
Apart from traffic violations, there were a number of prosecutions for disorderly conduct.