Hyderabad: Alcohol connoisseurs, or in other words “drunkards,” have a special place in society. Whether it was Devdas, the tragic self-destructive protagonist from Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic 1917 novel, or those in power – people tend to listen to them because of the emotional value of their words, which may sometimes be beyond logic. However, the Telangana Police doesn’t seem to feel that way.

During a routine drunk driving check held at Telangana Chowk in Karimnagar recently, one such Devdas –let’s call him Dev D (Dev Drunk) the modern version of Devdas – who was not necessarily a jilted lover but was certainly fed up with reality, got the better of the traffic police personnel who stopped him.

The entire conversation between the police and Dev D was captured on video.

The offender, who was also the victim of his own crime of drunk driving, felt very offended by the manner in which he was stopped.

“I told you I was having difficulty breathing. But you didn’t wait. You were telling me to come and come. You were enjoying it,” Dev D told the police.

“I told you to please wait, please wait. I already told you that I had consumed alcohol. If I had denied it, you could have found fault with me,” he said.

For the traffic police, this was not strange behaviour they were unaccustomed to, as they handle such Dev Ds all the time.

“With his words itself the reading has come, sir,” a traffic constable could be heard telling his superior, who was supervising the drunk driving check.

“I’ll pay the fine and go to jail. But you are not doing what is supposed to be done, right? You can do whatever you want with people like me who work hard and make a living. When it comes to the big people, you will treat them nicely. Whatever crime they commit, you won’t find fault with them. For them, it is not your department at that moment,” he told the police, with an “I don’t care” smile on his face, occasionally gesturing with his hand as though performing before a camera on a film set.

“Your driving licence will be suspended and your vehicle will be impounded,” the superior officer cautioned Dev D politely.

“Do it, sir. Do whatever you want. Those in power will do whatever they want. I’ll die somewhere. Either way you will catch people like me. You won’t catch chain snatchers,” he said.

By now, the police personnel were rubbed the wrong way. “This fellow is talking too much,” said a policeman who was off camera.

“Do whatever you want to, sir,” Dev D said.

He was made to blow into the nozzle of the breathalyser, which recorded a reading of 55 – enough for the police to book him.

The video ended there, leaving what happened to Dev D an open question.