Man booked for selling gutkha amid lockdown

The Pimpri-Chinchwad police, on Wednesday night, booked a man for being in possession of gutkha (tobacco) in Nigdi in order to sell it while a nation-wide lockdown is in place.

The man has been identified as Mehboob Hussain Karval, 24, a resident of Ota Scheme in Rajnagar, Nigdi. Karval was roaming around on a TVS Jupiter at 2.30 pm, according to the police.

On Wednesday, a team of two officers of the crime branch, and anti-narcotics cell officials were in the area. The police seized gutkha worth Rs 16,452 from him. He intended to sell it even though the order of Pimpri Chinchwad police commissioner does not permit it, said police.

Karval was among the 76 people who faced action under Section 188 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Wednesday for violating lockdown rules, said police.

A case under Sections 188, 272 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale), 273 (sale of noxious food or drink), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence) of IPC along with Sections 2(a), 26(2)(i), 26(2)(iv) of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 has been registered against the man at Nigdi police station.