The Delhi traffic police worked overtime, it seems, on Holi day. In a record of sorts, they issued challans to more than 9,000 motorists for various traffic offences on Wednesday. The figure was 3,260 last Holi.

“The biggest offenders this year were two-wheeler riders,” said Joint Commissioner S N Shrivastava.

A majority of the offenders who were issued challans were riding without helmet. “It was also the first time that we issued challans to such a high number of motorists (794) in a single day for driving under the influence of liquor,” Shrivastava added. Last year, only 308 people were issued challans for the offence.

Looking at the success this time, the traffic police are now planning to pitch their campaign for awareness on safety. On Wednesday, the drive was carried out in two parts between 9.30 am and 3 pm and then from 6 pm to 8 pm. Specific areas, which had recorded highest number of accidents in the previous years, were specially targeted.

The police, however, did not arrest any of the offenders.

Eight people, meanwhile, lost their lives in different accidents on Wednesday. In 2008, accidents had claimed 13 lives on Holi. “In three of the fatal cases, motorcyclists were involved and the victim riders were to blame for the accidents,” said Shrivastava.

Two accidents, claiming five lives, occurred in the Palam village area. Four members of a family died when they fell off a flyover after their motorcycle lost control and hit the crash barrier on Wednesday afternoon. In another accident, a 20-year-old biker died after his two-wheeler skidded.

In Sector 16 of Dwarka, a 42-year-old man died when his scooter was hit by a speeding Tata 407. The tempo driver managed to flee, the police said.

A 45-year-old man lost his life while his nephew sustained injuries when their scooter skidded in Ashok Vihar area of Northwest district on Wednesday. According to the police, the man was driving under the influence of alcohol and was speeding.

In yet another accident, a 35-year-old man died when an unknown vehicle hit him in New Ashok Nagar area of East district.

The spate of fatal accidents continued on Thursday. While a 60-year-old man was run over by a speeding Blueline bus in Bhajanpura area of Northeast Delhi, a four-year-old boy lost his life after a speeding Delhi Jal Board (DJB) tanker crushed him in Rajouri Garden area of West district.