The city police, who started an intensive raid against sale of tobacco products to school students and youth aged below 18 years on Tuesday had registered cases against 125 persons till Wednesday evening. The raid was following the Madras High Court’s direction to check smoking in public places and form special squads to raid shops and confiscate tobacco products being sold near schools.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) S. Lakshmi said that 90 cases were registered against persons selling cigarettes and tobacco products to minors and at a distance of less than 100 metres from schools. The police also seized tobacco products worth several thousand rupees from shops.
The accused were booked under sections 6(B), 12, 13 and 24 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce, production, supply and distribution) (COTPA) Act 2003 and sections 7 and 9(ii) of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Smoking and Spitting (TNPSS) Act.
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A fine of Rs. 200 was imposed on each of them. They were released on bail and warned not to sell such products within a radius of 100 metres from schools.
In Tirupur, the police on Wednesday arrested 10 persons for allegedly possessing cigarettes and banned tobacco products for sale within 100 metres of schools.
Police sources said . all of them were later released on bail.
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