Hyderabad: Tobacco-related offences made up the majority of environment-related cases registered in Telangana in 2024, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), with 564 of the state’s 591 cases booked under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). Police officials said that while public smoking accounts for a majority of the offences detected under the Act, sale of tobacco products to minors remains a concern, particularly around educational institutions.“The objective is to create awareness among shops near educational institutions. If they are found selling cigarettes near schools, we seize the material and initiate action,” a senior police officer said.Khairatabad DCP K Shilpavalli said that public smoking constituted the bulk of COTPA violations booked by the police. Asked about the sale of tobacco products to minors, she said it was “a concern”, though she did not have statistics to say whether the problem was increasing.“The violations are there, despite regular enforcement drives. We have also observed a growing trend of ganja being sold through pan shops near educational institutions. We are taking strict action against those involved in these activities,” said a former Task Force officer who is now part of the law and order police.NCRB data also showed that while tobacco-related offences dominated the environment-related crime report in Telangana, categories such as wildlife protection, forest-related offences and noise pollution recorded negligible or no cases during the year. Of the 869 environment-related cases taken up for investigation in the state, 591 were reported during 2024.The data further showed that 506 persons were arrested under COTPA-related offences during the year, while police filed 704 chargesheets. Police disposed of 792 investigations during the year, leaving 77 cases pending investigation at the end of 2024, with the chargesheeting rate standing at 85%.Court records compiled by NCRB show that 673 fresh COTPA cases were sent for trial during the year, taking the total number of cases for trial to 1,272, including those pending from previous years. Of these, 485 persons were convicted and 72 acquitted. The conviction data showed that 470 men and 15 women were convicted under the Act during the year.
