Chennai: In a clear sign that tobacco lobbyists are unfazed by sporadic seizures of gutka and pan masala, the railway protection force (RPF) has yet again (second time in two months) seized the banned substance worth Rs 15 lakh from the Delhi-Kanyakumari Thirukkural bi-weekly express.
And there is a reason for this brazenness: two months after the railway intelligence was pushed to seize 200 cartons of gutka and pan masala from the train at Madurai railway station – after an investigation by an NGO revealed how they were being illegally transported by the express – an FIR is yet to be filed. On Monday, the seizure was made by an RPF inspector at Dindigul station.
Samples of the products seized in February had been sent to the food safety department for tests. “The report clearly states the products are unsafe and prohibited. It was handed over to the railways,” confirmed a senior food safety official. Sources say there has been pressure on RPF from various quarters to release the seized products on the grounds that the Madurai bench of the Madras high court had observed that tobacco is not a food product and hence no proceeding can be initiated against the manufacturers under the Food Safety and Standards Act.
A senior RPF officer said that Government Railway Police (GRP) is creating issues in taking control of the consignment and filing a case. “They have quoted some legal advice from a public prosecutor for not taking custody,” the officer said.
A DSP-level officer in the Madurai GRP denied the allegations. “We have not received any report from the RPF regarding the seizure. Even the seizure at Madurai in February, we came to know only from the news,” the officer said. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), enforcing a Supreme Court order, last year issued a directive banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of gutka and pan masala. The directive was issued to commissioners/officers in-charge of food safety of all states and Union territories in the country. The Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on sales) Regulations, 2.3.4 prohibits the use of tobacco and nicotine as an ingredient in any food product and also bans the sale of food products where tobacco has been used as ingredient in things like gutka and pan masala.
However, these banned substances continue to be brought into Tamil Nadu by rail and road. In March, food safety commissioner P Amudha wrote to FSSAI stating that railway officials in the state appeared to be unaware of the 2016 Supreme Court order banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of gutka. Taking note of this, FSSAI wrote to Indian Railways on March 14 seeking an action taken report on the seizure in Madurai.
Cyril Alexander, state convener of Tamil Nadu People’s Forum for Tobacco Control, said officials can’t use the local courts’ directives to stop officials from taking action. “Whatever the local courts say, the Supreme Court’s word is final,” he said.
In the meanwhile, Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam, who exposed the illegal transportation of gutka in Madurai, has sought a CBI investigation. “The DSP of state railways Madurai division is Mannar Mannan who has been directly implicated in the gutka scam in the state. How then can we expect a fair probe?” he asked. Mannan’s name is among those mentioned by former commissioner of police S George, who allegedly handed over a list of those who received kickbacks from gutka companies to allow sale of the products in the state. Health minister C Vijayabaskar’s name was also in the list.
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