Navy officer booked for mowing down pavement dweller

A 20-year-old pavement dweller died here after he was mowed down by a car being driven by a Naval officer allegedly under the influence of liquor, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place late last night near Telugu Talli flyover (Asilametta-Dondaparthi Area) that falls under Two Town police station limits, police added.

The deceased, identified as N Raju, was a native of Vizianagaram.

The accused, Chinmayi Talwalkar (24), is posted as a Sub Lieutenant at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, Circle Inspector of Police (Traffic) Two Town Police station S Naidu said.

"Talwalkar was driving a Hyundai i-20 car from Novotel Hotel to Naval base after attending a small party at the hotel late last night. Another navy man and son of a naval officer were present in the car with him," he said.

However, when the vehicle came near the flyover, Talwalkar lost control and the car ran over Raju, who was sleeping on the pavement. He died on the spot due to severe head injuries and three others were also injured in the incident, Naidu added.

According to ACP (Traffic) K Prabhakar, although Talwarkar was under the influence of liquor, his blood alcohol content (BAC) was found to be 18 mg/100 ml, while those of two others in the car was 19 mg/100 ml.

"Police can register a drunken driving case if the BAC is above 30mg/100 ml. But, we have also collected the blood samples to ascertain the accurate amount of alcohol. Based on the report, further action will be taken," he added.

The accused has been kept under watch at the Two Town police Station, while the two others in the car have been let off. Police have registered a case under IPC section 304 (part 2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

According to police, the victim was a native of Vizianagaram town and had moved to Vizag few years back along with his father, both are daily wage labourers.

The injured have been admitted to a hospital, police said, adding that further investigation is on.