Bhubaneswar: Noted para shuttler Pramod Bhagat, who was recently handed an 18-month suspension for breaching BWF’s anti-doping whereabouts clause and did not participate in Paris Paralympics, has once again found himself on the wrong side of law.
The badminton ace from Odisha was allegedly found driving under the influence of alcohol and on the wrong side of the road near Omfed Square here late on Saturday night. Police have seized his car and he is set to face prosecution for the offence.
DCP Prateek Singh said Bhagat was alone in the car when he was stopped by police. He was found intoxicated and driving on the wrong side of the road. Traffic police conducted Bhagat’s test during which his blood alcohol content (BAC) was found to be around 47 mg/100 ml. Subsequently, his car was seized at around 1.30 am. Police have also submitted a prosecution report against him in this connection.
However, Bhagat claimed he was not inside the car and his manager was driving the vehicle on Saturday night. “The vehicle is registered in my name but my manager was driving it. I was not even in Bhubaneswar,” he said.
Bhagat had won the gold medal in 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. He is the second sports personality whose car was seized in the capital city for drunk driving within a month. On August 19, former Indian hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey was reportedly found driving under the influence of alcohol for which his vehicle was seized.
Police said a drive was carried out against wrong side and drunken driving at 15 vulnerable points across the city for which four platoons of force were deployed. Cases were registered against four persons as their BAC was found to be high. At least 25 vehicles were seized, said a police officer.
Police have requested the regional transport office (RTO) to suspend the licences of persons who were found driving under the influence of alcohol. The violators will have to deposit the fine in court to obtain the release order of their seized vehicle.