Two daily wage workers were killed in a suspected case of drunken driving on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday in South Bangalore, according to traffic police authorities.
The man behind wheels was identified as Baljith Singh (36) who was driving home after drinking in a city bar with his colleague at Wipro’s Sarjahpur unit. Singh hails from Mohali and was staying at Kasavanahlli.
The incident happened on Kasavanahalli Main Road when the duo of Mala (42) and Chinnappayyappa (48) were walking on the pavement towards their residence in Kaikondrahalli after attending a church assembly at around 12 30 on Saturday morning, when Singh mowed them down losing control of his sedan.
Speaking to TNM, Vasu, an official in the Madiwala Traffic Police Station said Singh has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and was found to be under the influence of alcohol.
Reported incidents of drinking and driving cases are on the rise in the city despite numerous awareness initiatives taken by the government and NGOs. A total of 55138 cases were registered in 2014. A Hindu article says that the total number of accidents spiked up as much as double when the night life was extended from 11 PM to 1 AM on weekends.