Paan vendor arrested for selling cigarette to junior college student

The Mumbai police on Tuesday arrested a pan vendor for selling a cigarette to a junior college student and in the process registered the first case under the newly strengthened juvenile justice act.

The Act was amended in January to bring the sale of tobacco to minors under its purview. Under the amended Act, selling cigarettes or other tobacco products to a minor attracts a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh. Earlier, this offence was punishable with a measly Rs200 fine under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). In addition to the juvenile justice act, the seller has also been charged under COTPA and the Food Safety and Security Act.

The operation to apprehend Maniram Chaurasia, 46, who runs a pan shop outside a school in Matunga, was based on a tipoff and involved officers from the juvenile aid police unit (JAPU), the enforcement wing of the Mumbai police and the food and drug administration (FDA).

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