Blinkit delivery agent captured for supplying cigarettes to infant students: Kota

Rajasthan: A case has been registered against the accused under the Juvenile Justice Act and the Smoking Prohibition Act. On Sunday news emerged that a 48-year-old Blinkit delivery agent got arrested in Kota for delivering cigarettes to pre-teen students.

Here's how it bottoms up on location:

The exposure transpired in Kota, which is categorized as a zone for students making preparations for competitive examinations like IIT-JEE and NEET. According to the statement of SP Kota City Amrita Duhan, the delivery agent (Satyaprakash Koli) was arrested during the provision of cigarettes to coaching students on Saturday evening. 

Blinkit is a networked delivery objective that generally endows groceries, snacks, and essentials. Even so, in this context, the delivery agent allegedly desecrated the laws by supplying prohibited items like cigarettes to teenagers. Police said that they would file a charge sheet against the Quick e-commerce platform for this action of the agent.

The incident has raised apprehensions about the consolidation of the delivery marketplace and their role in verifying customer age when delivering forbidden items. This emphasizes the rising concern regarding access to tobacco betwixt minors, especially within educational epicenters like Kota where students enroll to prepare for competitive evaluations.

What is the modus operandi of violation:

By statute, the divestiture of nicotine alternatives to minors is prohibited under COTPA (Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003). The accused, who works for Blinkit, has been booked under Section 77 of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act and Section 9/11 of the Rajasthan Prohibition of Smoking and Health Protection of Non-Smokers Act, the SP stated.

Kota city police had once earlier transcribed a letter to the substitutes of Blinkit corporation at its workplace in Landmark City restricting them not to selling or supplying cigarettes to underage students, but even though, the company continued to sell cigarettes to coaching students, this is what they say.

Currently, an investigation is underway to trace other personnel of the company involved in the sale and consumption of prohibited materials to juveniles.

Kunhadi Circle Inspector Arvind Bhardwaj has also asked the police to file a charge sheet against the company. He also stated that dispensing smokeable substances and tobacco to youngsters is a huge misconduct and the police will also take into consideration the company's logistics chain of restricted commodities in other cities during the inquiry. Even the stock and supply registers recuperated from the company's store have been extracted to undertake inquiries.

The accused appeared in the court on Sunday and after imposition of sections on him, he was sent to jail.

For parents and institutions, the happening brings out the need for heightened alertness to supervise these activities of minors, especially in highly challenging academic surroundings. Now, the authorities are prone to take strict moves for deterrence purposes of such incidents in the future, to administer the sanctuary and welfare of the students in Kota.

With inputs from agencies

Image Source: Multiple agencies

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