70 shops raided for selling tobacco products near educational institutes in Delhi

Special police commissioner (crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said the raids were conducted on Wednesday under “Operation Kavach 4.0”

Delhi Police’s Crime Branch and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has raided and slapped fines on 70 shop owners under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) for selling tobacco products near educational institutes in the Capital.

The action was taken under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act. (Sourced)

Special police commissioner (crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said that the raids were conducted on Wednesday under “Operation Kavach 4.0” based on Union home affairs and the lieutenant governor’s directives. He added they focused on identifying and apprehending individuals involved in the trafficking and distribution of tobacco products near educational institutes.

“Our Anti-Narcotics Taskforce took action against these shops in the 100-metre vicinity of the schools as per the education department’s data. Joint action was planned simultaneously all over Delhi along with teams from the NCB to ensure action with an element of surprise. The purpose was to check not only the contraband substance being sold by the shops to school-going children but also taking stringent action against the violators for closure of such shops.”

Yadav said 31 areas were identified across Delhi, where 70 vendors were found selling tobacco products within the 100-meter radius of the schools. “This was a unique operation conducted all over Delhi in a single day to give a strong message to such illegal vendors active near educational institutes.”

Yadav said undercover officers, surveillance, canine support, and intelligence gathering were involved in the joint operation. “Operation Kawach is primarily intended to save the children from the menace of drugs.”