Andheri bizman’s Juhu beach party plan for New Year goes up in smoke after driver hired via app is booked for being drunk, car is seized
Akash Pandey, the driver booked for drunk driving, and a traffic constable near the JW Marriott in Juhu early on Thursday. PICS/NIMESH DAVE
A businessman’s plan to ring in the New Year with his wife, child, and an aunt at Juhu beach ended with the family spending two-and-a-half hours at the Juhu police station and his vehicle being seized, as the driver he had hired to take them to their destination was found to be inebriated by traffic police officers manning a nakabandi near the JW Marriott. The police have registered an FIR against the driver.
The businessman, an Andheri West resident who did not wish to be identified, told mid-day it was not his family’s fault at all that the driver was drunk. “I regularly book drivers through an app. On the night of December 31, I attempted to do the same. Five or six drivers had accepted the booking but cancelled later. After almost an hour, a driver accepted the ride but told me to cancel saying he would send someone over through his reference.”
The police officer steers the businessman’s car to Juhu police station with the driver in the front seat
The businessman stated that he had no plans to drink that night and was capable of driving the vehicle himself, but was accustomed to hiring drivers to avoid risks while travelling on the road with his family.
“Around midnight, the driver reached our society. He did not seem drunk. But when we reached the JW Marriott, the traffic police stopped the car and used a breath analyser and found that our driver had been drinking. We informed the police that he was not a family member or a friend and that he had got the job through a reference from another driver,” he added.
Akash Pandey, (left) the driver booked for drunk driving, and a traffic constable near the JW Marriott in Juhu early on Thursday. PIC/NIMESH DAVE
However, a traffic police constable took the driver, identified as Akash Pandey, and the family to the Juhu police station. A police officer said, “We have registered an FIR against Pandey, who was found to be drunk despite his claims that he was sober. We also sent him for medical testing.”
Do’s and don’ts for booking drivers
Jaywant Hargude, retired assistant commissioner of police, advises citizens to...
>> Always book a driver employed by an authentic company
>> If a driver asks you to cancel rides and avail of his personal services in a bid to profit, somehow refuse because if any incident should happen, the company will not be responsible
>> Check if a driver is sober or not; if he is intoxicated, don’t take ride
>> Your safety is in your own hands. If a driver is driving rashly, stop the ride immediately, inform the company concerned and seek help from the police
>> Hire only drivers whose backgrounds have been verified by the police
Timeline of events
10 pm-11.30 pm: The businessman frantically attempts to book a driver via various apps but faces challenges owing to high demand
11.30 pm: He finds a driver, but the latter calls him and tells him to cancel the booking, offering to send over a friend instead
12 am: The journey to Juhu beach begins
12.30 am: Their vehicle is stopped, and driver is found to be drunk, according to a breathalyser test
1 am: Everyone is taken to the police station. The family pleads to cops not to seize their vehicle, but the latter refuse
2 am-2.30 am: The family decides to cancel their celebration, hail autos, and depart for home
3.30 am: The family, shaken, returns to their Andheri West residence
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