A group of people blocked the crossing in front of Jadavpur Police station early on Tuesday demanding release of some motorists booked for drunk driving, police said.

The blockade was withdrawn around 4am on Tuesday after a police team intervened.

The detentions were part of a special raid by Kolkata Police to prevent accidents on city roads during Durga Puja.

The kin of the motorists who had come to Jadavpur police station to complete legal formalities protested at the crossing, alleging they were made to wait for hours since the police did not have enough vehicles to ferry the prosecuted to the nearest hospital for blood test.

“The legal limit for alcohol content in blood during driving is 30mg per 100ml of blood. Anything above this limit is punishable under the relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act,” said a senior officer of the Jadavpur police station.

“These motorists were checked using a breath analyser twice for confirmation and found to be carrying alcohol in blood above the specified limit,” he added.

Relatives who turned up at the police station were clearly informed about the formalities, the police said.