Days after popular Telugu Television anchor Machiraju Pradeep was caught while driving his car drunk, he is yet to attend the counselling session at the Traffic Training Institute in Hyderabad.
All vehicle owners who were caught on New Year's Eve for the first time, were mandated to attended counselling either at the Traffic Training Institute in Begumpet or Goshamahal.
Speaking to reporters, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic-III) B. Koteswara Rao said that Pradeep did not attend the counselling, and might get summons from a court, if he fails to do so.
The police said that Pradeep did not respond to their calls, and was not available at his house either.
However, as news began spread on social media that he was 'absconding', the anchor put out a video to clarify the matter.
"We all know what happened in December 31. As per law, I'm following all proceedings since then. As per the instructions I have received, I will attend counselling and the proceedings that will follow," he said.
"However, I had prior shooting commitments, due to which I had to attend to certain things. This has left people worried that I'm not available. That is not the case. I may have missed some important calls since I was busy. I will follow everything as per law," he added.
The anchor also addressed an old video of his from last year, being circulated on social networking sites, where he requested adults not to drink and drive.
"As far as the old video is concerned, I had said that and have ended up in this situation. Therefore, I hope that no one repeats the mistake that I did. Thank you," he concluded.
Watch the video below.
Pradeep was caught by the police when they undertook a special drive to prevent drunken driving on New Year’s Eve.
His blood test showed he had 178 mg/ml, compared to the permissible limit of 30 mg/ml.
Pradeep began his career as a Radio Jockey for Radio Mirchi before gaining fame with Konchem Touchlo Unte Chepta, a popular celebrity talk show on Zee Telugu.
As part of the drive, the Hyderabad Police booked a record 2,499 people for drunken driving on New Year’s Eve.