Ahmedabad: A Rs 2,000 e-cigarette cost two 21-year-old MBA students their Rs 5 lakh SUV after Bodakdev police caught them allegedly possessing the prohibited device outside a cafe on St Jude Church Road in Thaltej on Saturday night and seized the SUV, as they failed to produce the required documents of ownership.The two students, one residing in Satellite and the other in Paldi, were found sitting in a dark purple Mahindra XUV500 outside Camelo Cafe around 10 pm on Nov 14. During routine patrolling, police noticed the vehicle and approached it. When the driver rolled down the window, officers detected a strong smell of cigarette smoke and decided to search the vehicle in the presence of witnesses.A search of the car’s dashboard storage compartment led to the recovery of an Elfbar Raya D3 Pro e-cigarette, valued at around Rs 2,000. When questioned, the occupants failed to produce a licence or permission to possess the device.Police identified the occupants as 21-year-old MBA students from Satellite and Paldi. The car, valued at Rs 5 lakh, was seized along with the e-cigarette. Two mobile phones, one worth Rs 45,000 and another Rs 35,000, were also confiscated.The total value of the seized property was estimated at Rs 5.8 lakh, including the SUV, two phones and the e-cigarette.Bodakdev police lodged an FIR under Sections 7 and 8 of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019.The law prohibits the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes. Police began investigating the source of the device and whether the students had procured it for personal use or from a supplier.
