‘Muchhad Paanwala’ booked for selling imported tobacco without statutory warning

MUMBAI: A case has been registered against the owners of ‘Muchhad Paanwala’, based in Kemps Corner, for selling imported tobacco-based products, the packets of which didn’t carry statutory warning

MUMBAI: A case has been registered against the owners of ‘Muchhad Paanwala’, based in Kemps Corner, for selling imported tobacco-based products, the packets of which didn’t carry statutory warning. The Gamdevi police have seized the imported tobacco packets and cigarette rolling papers from the shop.

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A case has been registered against the owner Shyam Kumar Tiwari, 33, and one of his employees, Adarsh Kumar Mishra, 22.

According to the police, on Wednesday afternoon, they carried out a search at the paan stall and seized many imported tobacco packets, which didn’t have the statutory warnings and pictures on them. The police also seized many packets of cigarette rolling papers.

“We have registered a case under section 7 (restrictions on trade and commerce in, and production, supply and distribution of, cigarettes and other tobacco products) of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 against the two,” said a police officer.

The officer added that the two have also been served with notices under sections 41(1)(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The police said samples from the seized imported tobacco packets will be sent to the Food and Drugs Administration for examination.

The police said Muchhad Paanwala is a family-run business and Shyam Kumar Tiwari has three more cases registered against him under the same act. Another member of the owners’ family, Ram Kumar Tiwari, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in January 2021, after his phone number was found on the mobile call list of a British national, Karan Sajnani, from whom marijuana was seized.

Tiwari family that runs Muchhad Paanwala stalls has six branches located in Khetwadi, Mumbai Central, Girgaum, Nepean Sea Road and Colaba. All are operated by the family. The Kemps Corner stall employs over 15 workers.

The prices of the different paans at the shop range between ₹40 and ₹1,000. Tiwari set up his website in the ’90s and today, paans can be ordered through Zomato and Swiggy as well.