The police constable, who was on patrol duty, was seen at wheels of a car that was zig-zagging.
A constable of Mumbai police has been arrested for alleged drink-driving while on duty. Constable Ankush Sanap was seen at the wheels of a police vehicle that was zig-zagging on the Western Express Highway around 11.30 pm in suburban Kandivali. No one else was inside the vehicle at the time.
The locals stopped the car and informed the police.
Constable Sanap, 41, the police said, was on patrol duty at the time. He is attached to a police station in Borivali, located in the suburbs of Mumbai.
The locals then informed the police who arrived at the spot and took the constable to a police station, he said.
A breathalyzer test proved that he was under the influence of alcohol, a police officer said. He was put under arrest and charged under the relevant sections of the motor vehicle Act and the Maharashtra Prohibition Act.
Depending on the level of alcohol in one's blood, drink driving can draw anything between 6 months and 2 years in jail and a fine. Repeat offenders may be jailed for 4 years and fined Rs 10,000.
Since June 2007, when the campaign against drink-driving started, more than 70,000 cases have been registered.
The police have said the continuous campaign through on-road checks and text messages during festivals has brought down the incidences.
Last year, two people had died when a 35-year-old lawyer, Janhavi Gadkar, rammed a taxi with her Audi SUV in an allegedly drunken state. Minutes before the crash, she was seen driving on the freeway at a very high speed.
The incident had pushed the police to ramp up the drink driving checks across the city.
A week later, a woman had locked herself in her car in upscale Bandra after failing the breathalyzer check, forcing a group of policemen to smash a window and drag her out.