Hero Navdeep arrested

Young Telugu film actor P. Navdeep was early Sunday arrested for drunken and rash driving after a hot chase, police said.

The 35-year-old actor, who was allegedly driving a car in an inebriated condition, tried to give a slip to police after spotting a police team checking vehicles for drunken driving at Banjara Hills area on sunday morning hours, they said, adding that he was with a friend in the car.

The policemen chased the vehicle and tracked it down some distance away and arrested the actor.

"The police asked Navdeep to stop his vehicle at the checking point but he did not stop and tried to speed away by driving on the wrong side…But, the police chased the vehicle and nabbed him," West Zone DCP Stephen Raveendra said.

According to a police officer, the actor behaved rudely with the policemen when he and his friend were being taken in an auto rickshaw to the police station.

A case has been registered against him under IPC sections 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and also for drunken and rash driving, police said.

Navadeep, who has acted in 15 Telugu and several Tamil movies, was produced before a magistrate and later released on bail, police said.

Later, talking to reporters, the actor admitted that he was under the influence of alcohol, but it was under permissible limits.

He said he tried to flee as he thought the people asking him to stop were not policemen.