As many as 326 motorists were prosecuted on Tuesday night for violating traffic norms. Twenty-six of them were allegedly driving under the influence of liquor.

Booking motorists or bikers for drink driving had stopped during the pandemic because breathalysers could not be used as a precaution against the coronavirus.

The drive resumed on Tuesday night after a gap of nine months, without breathalysers, amid mild protests from motorists.

The majority of the prosecutions for drink driving were reported from Park Street, Theatre Road, Loudon Street, Bentinck Street and Waterloo Street and from the Sovabazar and Golpark crossings, between 10.30pm on Tuesday and 1am on Wednesday.

Sources said 26 people were prosecuted for drink driving. The drive is likely to continue, deputy commissioner (traffic) Rupesh Kumar told Metro.

As many as 104 motorcyclists were prosecuted for riding with more than one pillion rider, while another 163 were booked for driving without a helmet.

In the absence of breathalysers, the police on Tuesday night depended on their instincts to detect drunk motorists.

“Instead of directly asking whether a motorist had consumed alcohol, we started a conversation by asking if all the papers (of the car) were in place. By carefully listening to how the person spoke, we tried to assess whether he was intoxicated. If there were any doubt, we asked motorists to accompany our men to hospital for an alcohol test,” said an officer posted in Ballygunge.

Many officers posted on Theatre Road and Park Street faced resistance when cars were being signalled to stop. “A man who was driving an Audi said: ‘Oho, abar e-shob keno? Apnara e-shob keno koren? (Why all this again? Why do you do all these things?)’,” an officer said.

Those who resisted going to hospital for an alcohol test were told that non-compliance would attract stricter sections of law.

More than one motorist in several pockets of the city cited the common excuse of “pandemic-induced stress” after being caught driving in an intoxicated state.

A person can be fined Rs 2,000 or jailed for six months if the alcohol content in his or her blood is found to be more than 30mg per 100ml of blood. Second and subsequent offences can attract a fine of Rs 3,000 and two years’ jail.