Driving Drunk Was My Mistake: Anchor Pradeep 

Hyderabad: TV anchor Machiraju Pradeep, who went absconding after being caught driving his car in an inebriated condition on the New Year day, surfaced on the social media in a video. Pradeep admitted to his mistake and said he will abide by the law.

"I am not absconding," the anchor says in the video and explains that he wanted to fulfill his pre-committed assignments before attending counselling sessions and legal procedures.

Pradeep's car was seized by the Jubilee Hills traffic police, but the counseling session will be conducted at the Traffic Training Institute in Begumpet.

Vehicle owners caught driving under the influence are expected to attend counseling either at the Traffic Training Institute in Begumpet or Goshamahal the next day though they can do so within seven days from the date of incident. They are produced before the court after that. But Pradeep did not attend the counseling, said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic-III) B. Koteswara Rao.

In a video that went viral on Facebook on Thursday night, Pradeep says he committed a mistake by driving drunk and appeals to the people not to do the same.

Pradeep is likely to attend the counseling on Friday and he was found having BAC 178/ml/100mg, the punishment is likely to be between two and seven days.

Meanwhile, rumor mill is abuzz over the girl who was sitting beside Pradeep when he was caught. Some said it was popular female anchor Srimukhi who shares screen with Pradeep in some TV programs. However, Srimukhi is reported to have brushed the rumors and warned not to drag her into this matter.