EAGLE invokes Juvenile Justice Act over cigarette sales
HYDERABAD: The EAGLE Force has invoked the Juvenile Justice Act against two men accused of selling cigarettes to minors at a pan shop in Old Bowenpally, amid intensified surveillance against tobacco sales to children.
EAGLE personnel kept watch near Limra Pan Mahal in Old Bowenpally, Secunderabad, on Sunday evening when they spotted two minors buying cigarettes from the shop. They detained shop operator Md. Yusuf Uddin Goury and worker Md. Rehan Ali.
EAGLE team seizes cigarettes worth ₹60,000
The team searched the shop and seized cigarettes and other tobacco products worth around ₹60,000. The two accused and the seized material were handed over to Bowenpally police.
EAGLE officials have been keeping continuous surveillance on shops selling cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors. The operations are aimed at preventing children from being exposed to tobacco, which the agency views as a possible first step towards substance abuse.
In the Old Bowenpally case, the accused face charges under Section 77 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and Section 6 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.
Section 6 of COTPA prohibits the sale of tobacco products to minors and the sale of such products within 100 yards of an educational institution. A violation under the section can attract a fine of ₹200.
Juvenile Justice Act carries tougher penalty
EAGLE officials are also invoking Section 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which carries a provision for a fine of up to ₹1 lakh and imprisonment of up to seven years if the offence is proved. Selling tobacco products to anyone below 18 is treated as a criminal offence under the provision, according to the source copy.
The move to invoke the Juvenile Justice Act follows efforts by EAGLE to register cases under stricter provisions against those selling tobacco products to minors.
EAGLE invites complaints on 1908 helpline
EAGLE director Sandeep Shandilya said people who have information about the sale of tobacco products to minors can report it through the toll-free number 1908.
Information can also be shared through the EAGLE control-room WhatsApp number 8712671111, by email at tsnabho-hyd@tspolice.gov.in, or through the EAGLE Force website.
