Actor, distributor held for DUI

Filmstar Siva Balaji of Chandamama fame and another person associated with the film industry were caught for drunk driving by the traffic police on Saturday night.

Siva Balaji was asked to undergo a breathalyser test at the traffic checking post at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on Filmnagar Road while driving towards his home in Manikonda in his Ford Fiesta on Sunday night.

The maximum limit of alcohol permissible is 30 mg; Balaji registered 69.2 mg. Hewas booked under Section 185 (drunken driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act and his car was seized. The actor will appear before the Nampally court on Monday.

The actor admitted that he was at fault and said he was forced to drive because his driver wasn`t available. Noted film distributor Sunil Narang was also booked for driving his Honda CRV under the influence of alcohol, the same night. He registered 58 mg of alcohol.

He tried to obstruct and assault the policemen and used abusive language, which earned him another charge under Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty) of the IPC. With far too many cases of drunken driving, traffic police and the courts have been following a zero tolerance policy towards the menace.

A month ago, a Nampally court suspended the driving licence of actor Nikhil for a year for drunken driving and in another case, a Medchal court sentenced a businessman to 15 days in jail for the same offence.

Actor Navadeep was also held for drunken driving over a year ago. He tried to give a slip to the police after spotting cops checking vehicles for drunken driving at Banjara Hills area. However, the police tracked down the vehicle and arrested the actor who was later produced in court and made to pay a fine.