Calcutta police commissioner Anuj Sharma on Friday asked his officers to find a way to curb drink driving in the city even if police were unable to use breathalysers for detecting presence of alcohol in a driver’s blood during the pandemic.

Police have stopped the use of breathalysers to prevent chances of transmission of the Covid-19 infection since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The top cop, while addressing officers of the rank of officers-in-charge and above during the monthly crime conference, said even if cops were unable to use the machine (breathalyser), they should find a way to curb the menace of drink driving in the city.

On Sunday night, a 23-year-old youth, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, killed a cyclist and injured a pedestrian with his Volkswagen Polo on Prince Anwar Shah Road.

“We have to find a way to do this (prosecute for drink driving),” an officer quoted the top cop as saying.

The police commissioner also reminded that in absence of traffic during the lockdown period, the police have had a relatively lighter period as there was no traffic to manage, sources quoted him.

However, with all establishments opening up during the unlock phases, the volume of traffic has increased manifold compared to what it was during the lockdown period and has become a cause of concern for motorists and pedestrians alike.

In the present scenario, the prosecution rate for drink driving in the city has also gone down in absence of use of breathalysers whose readings are used as evidence while prosecuting a person under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act.

A person can be fined Rs 2,000 or jailed for six months if found driving after drinking beyond the permissible limit of 30mg in 100 ml of blood. Second and subsequent offence attracts a fine of Rs 3,000 and two years’ jail.

With the year-end and Christmas approaching, the possibility of cases of drink driving may increase too, a section of the police feels.

Sharma also expressed concern over the soaring number of road accidents in the city in the past few weeks, sources said.

Three fatal accidents were reported in the city between Thursday night and Friday morning.

A 75-year-old motorcyclist — Dilip Kumar Biswas, who was wearing a helmet — died in an accident on Strand Road on Friday morning.

The police said Biswas, who was riding the two-wheeler, had first overtaken another two-wheeler and was trying to overtake a bus when he apparently lost control and rammed into a lamp post near Prinsep Ghat around 9.50am. He was taken to SSKM Hospital where he was declared dead.

A younger relative, who was riding pillion, escaped with minor lesser injuries.

In Thakurpukur, a 78-year-old pedestrian Nimai Mondal died after a truck lost control and hit three static auto rickshaws on Diamond Harbour Road and then went on to knock down two pedestrians, killing one of them. The incident happened on Friday afternoon.

On Thursday night, a cyclist received fatal injuries after being hit by an autorickshaw on Rashbehari connector.

An officer who attended the crime conference on Friday said Sharma had also asked to intensify the night patrol and focus on anti-crime drives in the city.