High on bhaang and driving? Toh Phir ‘Bura na maano, challan hai!’

Every year, the festival of colours makes Delhiites abandon all inhibitions. But when they bring their reckless, bhaang-addled selves out on the roads, the traffic policemen on duty are not very amused by the ‘bura na mano, Holi hai’ attitude. The cops tells us that even though breathalyzers can’t detect if a person is driving after consuming bhaang, the experience they have gathered over the years can, and the guilty ones are challaned for reckless driving
“We want people to celebrate the festival, but they should not drive dangerously. They should keep themselves and others safe by not driving under any influence,” says Dhal Singh, DCP Traffic, Delhi Police.
Traffic Police to bhaang-addled drivers: Bete, kuch naye excuses socho
The cops call Holi a storytelling festival, just like Diwali and New Year’s Eve – with traffic rule violators coming up with all sorts of creative stories. “We may think we’ve heard it all, but somehow, people keep coming up with new excuses every Holi,” says a traffic police officer, while another adds, “Often, we hear pleas like, ‘Arey sir, kyun Holi kharab kar rahe ho? Aap bhi festival manao, jaane do na.’”
One traffic police officer shares, “When we stopped a person who was in his 20s, he swore that his boss had thrown a Holi party and he couldn’t say no to the intoxicant. ‘Boss ko bhaang ke liye kaise mana karta?’ he said.” Another cop shares, “We’ve heard different versions of this excuse over the years – ‘In-laws ko thandai ke liye kaise mana karta?’, ‘girlfriend ko kaise mana karta?’, ‘meri thandai mein bhaang thi, ye toh mujhe khud bhi nahi pata tha!’”
A college student, who was let go after a warning near Akshardham a few years ago on Holi, recalls, “I was underage, had colour all over my face, and thought, ‘Who’s going to recognise me?’ So, my friends and I hopped on a bike to buy more colours. Next thing we knew, three traffic policemen stopped us and asked if we were intoxicated. We were – just slightly – but I also didn’t have a license. Mujhe laga arrest kar lenge! But he said, ‘Papa ko phone lagao.’ Within a span of a few minutes, I had excuses ranging from he’s in Singapore to he’s attending a relative’s funeral. But the policeman kept insisting that I call my parents, which I wanted to avoid. To prove I was sober, I dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups. Bhaang ka nasha toh police ko dekh kar hi udd gaya tha! Shayad unko taras aa gaya mujhpe; they let me go after a warning.”

Too much friendliness: ‘Arey sir, ek gujiya le lo!’ to ‘Challan kaat liya hai, ab gale bhi mil lo!’
Not every police officer has the patience to listen to your sob story or your TED Talk on why you didn’t follow rules on Holi. But that doesn’t stop drivers from trying. “On Holi, not only do people come up with excuses, but also Holi greetings and sweets!” laughs a traffic policeman, “They say ‘Arey sir, ek gujiya le lo!’ ‘Kya sir, chalo ek laddoo kha lo!’” Friendly reminder: no cop is going to exchange a challan for a box of gujiyas!
Another behavioural pattern among the high-on-bhaang drivers is excessive friendliness. A policeman says, “It’s difficult to keep them physically away from us. Itna bhaichara karne lagte hain log. They say, ‘Aap bhi toh humare bhai jaise hi ho, aur aaj toh Holi hai. Ab challan toh kaat liya hai, gale bhi mil lo!’ And we have to tell them, ‘Bilkul door raho uniform se!’” Another traffic cop adds, “People say things like, ‘Sir, humse bhi toh gale mil lo. Aaj toh Holi hai.’ Some kneel down and ask us to return their driving license.”
Challans issued on Holi over the last two years
2024
■ Delhi Traffic Police issued over 800 traffic challans for drunken driving
■ 1,524 challans were issued to violators for riding a two-wheeler without helmet
■ 1,241 other individuals were prosecuted for other offences like tinted glass, triple riding, driving without seat belts, etc
2023
■ 7,643 challans were issued, of which 559 were for drunken driving, 698 for triple-riding on two-wheelers, 3,410 for rider/pillion rider without helmet, 312 for driving without a seat belt, 215 for tinted glass and 2,449 other challans.