Nikhil booked for drunken driving

Tollywood star Nikhil Siddharth was booked for drunken driving at Banjara Hills on Friday night while returning from a party.

According to the police, Nikhil, who starred in Happy Days and played the lead in six other Tollywood films, seemed to be driving under the influence of alcohol and was made to undertake a field sobriety test, which he failed.

They added that Nikhil’s licence might be suspended for two months and he might also have to pay a fine.

The cops hauled Nikhil near the NTR Trust Bhavan during a special drive against drunken driving. The actor’s car has been detained and he will have to appear in court on Monday. When contacted, Nikhil brushed the incident aside, saying that he had not drunk in excess and that “it’s a small thing.”

His movie Veedu Theda is set to release on November 18. Nikhil started his career as an assistant director in Hyderabad Nawabs and played the lead in Ankit, Pallavi and Friends, Yuvatha, Kalavar King, Om Shanti, Alasyam Amrutham, Happy Days and Veedu Theda.

Additional commissioner of police (traffic) C. V. Anand said, “The permissible limit is 30 micrograms per 100 ml of alcohol. However, the actor tested 37.6 micrograms per 100 ml. A case has been booked under the MV act.”

Banjara Hills traffic inspector of police K. Srikanth said, “There was a girl in the car but as she was a co-passenger we didn’t check her. He has to come to the court on Monday and face the case under 185 A of MV act.”

One of the cops present at the spot said, “Nikhil called up one or two influential people and the phone was handed over to the inspector. The man on the phone asked the inspector to let him go but the cop said something softly and went ahead and issued the challan.”

When contacted, Nikhil said, “My movie Veedu Theda is set for release so I attended the promo meet at our office in Jubilee Hills. We had a small party and I took some champagne. I was returning home to Begumpet alone. There was no one else in the car. They stopped me at NTR Bhavan, did a breath test and served me a notice. I am nervous now as this has happened at the time of the release of my movie and usually I don’t drink.”

He added that he had a driving license from 2005 and was not aware that if caught he had to go to court and that his licence might be cancelled for two months.

The city traffic police has booked 160 persons over the last weekend and when produced in court, the magistrate has fined four-wheeler riders Rs 2,000 and two-wheeler riders Rs 1,300 and suspended their driving licenses for two months.

Police said they would continue the drive against drunk driving. “We will continue to do these checks throughout the year and it can be weekends or weekdays,” said C.V. Anand.