Cyberabad cops justify tipping off employers

Hyderabad: The Cyberabad police which has been dragged to the High Court for informing employers about the employees who have been caught in drunk driving cases, is likely to inform the court that they have never suggested to any employer to initiate action against the employee.

On July 1, a petition was filed in the High Court by one V. Pridhvi Krishna who said that the police was endangering the jobs and livelihood of the people by informing their employers that they had been detained in drunk-driving cases and that this had no legal sanctity. The matter will come up for hearing on July 22, when the court will hear the response of the police.

Based on the outcome, the Hyderabad traffic police will take a call on whether to implement a similar system.

“We do write to the employer, be it government or private, just for information. The employers have a social responsibility. A drunk driver is like a road terrorist who can not only kill himself but many others as well,” Cyberabad police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar told Deccan Chronicle.

He said the move to inform the employers, which started a few months ago, is just to bring about discipline.

“We continue to write to the employers whenever their employee is caught in drunk driving cases. We do not suggest or advice the employers to take any sort of action or sack the employee. What can we do if some multinational companies are taking a serious view (of their employee caught for drunken driving) and taking action,” he said.

“Due to the strict implementation of checks, the people at large are happy and many of them have appreciated the move which has even brought down the number of accidents,” he said.

Cyberabad DCP, traffic, S.M. Vijay Kumar said they had written to more than 250 employers. “It is only an intimation of the dangerous activity their employee has indulged in public space. We do not seek any action against the employees. It is just to communicate the legal consequences. What the companies do after receiving the letter is not our concern,” he said.

He said that for all those booked in drunken driving cases, it becomes a double-whammy as they not only have to undergo the punishment imposed by the court but also undergo a thorough investigation by the organisation that employs them.