KOCHI: When Prashant Rana Magar decided to ride the metro, little did he expect the rude awakening to come his way. The Nepali citizen was recently apprehended at a Kochi Metro station with packets of banned tobacco products, he intended to peddle, and police officers say he seemed unsure of what he had done wrong.
The incident occurred around 6.30 pm on Monday, when the 26-year-old reached Ernakulam South Railway Station to board the metro. “He arrived at the station with a plastic cover which he placed under the security scanner. The product was detected by officers of the State Industrial Security Force (SISF), which is in charge of the security of Kochi Metro. He was intercepted and information was passed on to Kochi metro police,” an officer said.
Soon, two police officers arrived and checked the plastic cover, which revealed 14 packets of Vimal pan masala and four packets of Swagath gold tobacco. The officers recorded the arrest of Prashant and shifted him to the station. A case was registered under the Cigarettes and Other Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA). The accused worked with a catering company in Nettoor, Kochi.
Manoj K N, station house officer (SHO), Kochi metro police, said the accused was supposedly on his way to sell the products. “It seems like he was unaware that the products are banned. As it is a bailable offence, he was later released,” Manoj said.