Hyderabad, March 1 -- The EAGLE Force of the Telangana Police on Saturday, February 28, caught three pan shop owners near a school in Mahabubnagar district selling cigarettes and gutka to minors, even as a separate inquiry has revealed a growing problem of banned e-cigarette use among school students in the district.

Acting on a complaint, the police conducted surveillance on the three pan shops near ZPHS Boys School in Badepally, Jadcherla, and caught the owners red-handed selling tobacco products to minors within 100 metres of the school premises. Cases have been registered under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) and the Juvenile Justice Act.

The e-cigarette concern surfaced separately when intelligence inputs flag...