Mokokchung, September 7 (MTNews): Mokokchung Police on Wednesday informed that they have arrested the driver of a passenger vehicle who was allegedly driving in a highly inebriated state putting the lives of the passengers in danger. A passenger of the said vehicle had earlier shared a video of the inebriated driver on social media that went viral on Tuesday.
“Taking cognizance of the social media circulations, wherein one driver of a Mokokchung to Dimapur Sumo bearing RC NL02T 2111 was remarked to be in a highly inebriated state, Mokokchung Police swung into action and arrested the said driver and further investigation and necessary procedures initiated,” Mokokchung Police posted on its official Facebook page along with a mugshot of the accused on Wednesday evening. “Don’t drink and drive,” it also said.
Mokokchung Police also added that a case has been registered under relevant sections of IPC and MV Act. The accused is currently lodged at PS-1, Mokokchung as per reports. The accused driver has been identified as Moatemsu, 33 years, s/o Late Akbar Ali, presently residing in Aongza Ward, Mokokchung.
It may be mentioned that, as per the viral video shared by the passenger, the driver was so inebriated he could not drive the vehicle and was seen dozing in the front seat of the vehicle in a place, reportedly Khatkhati, in Assam. The vehicle was coming from Dimapur to Mokokchung.
Adding a twist to the whole episode, the Ungma Kosasanger Pusu Menden summoned both the driver and the lady passenger who shared the video on Tuesday evening itself and conducted its own hearing. Contrary to what was reported in the video, it was established during the hearing that the driver was not a native of Ungma village but was of “Bengali Muslim” origin. In this respect, the lady later clarified on social media about the identity of the driver and expressed her regrets.
Meanwhile, the All Nagaland Taxi Association (ANTA) Mokokchung Unit stated that the unfortunate incident happened on September 6 while coming to Mokokchung from Dimapur. ANTA Mokokchung Unit president S. Tongpang informed that the actual driver of the Sumo taxi in question (NL02T 2111) had met with a two-wheeler accident the day before, on Sunday, and that the accused driver was arranged as a stand-in driver by the taxi owner as passenger tickets were already sold for Monday’s travel to Dimapur. The Sumo travelled to Dimapur on Monday and was returning to Mokokchung on Tuesday. The accused driver is actually a night bus driver and is not registered with the ANTA Mokokchung Unit, it was informed.
“Now he is in police custody. The matter is being taken up seriously by ANTA Mokokchung unit. We will take stern action against the driver and he will get what he deserves,” ANTA Mokokchung unit president said. He also thanked all concerned for sharing ‘valuable advice’ on “not to happen incident like this again.”
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