7-Eleven owner faces charges after boys are burned by ‘homemade’ spray sanitizer

The owner of a Bergen County 7-Eleven is facing charges for allegedly selling a homemade sanitizer spray that left a group of young boys with burns.
Manisha Bharade of Wood-Ridge was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and deceptive business practices related to the incident.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office says that on Monday evening, the River Vale Police Department came to the 7-Eleven after a post was made on social media about four boys, ages 10-11, who were burned by a sanitizer spray that was purchased at the store. According to investigators, Bharade allegedly mixed commercial foaming sanitizers, which was not meant for resale, with water and packaged it in spray bottles to be sold at the 7-Eleven on Riverdale Road. Officials say that the boys were burned by a chemical reaction from the mixture.
Authorities say that 14 bottles were sold – five have been turned over to police, but nine are unaccounted for, according to the prosecutor.
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The prosecutor’s office says that in addition to the charges against Bharade, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has opened an investigation into the store’s practices regarding “the sale and promotion of health and sanitation products” sold since the onset of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Let me be perfectly clear: if you try to take advantage of our residents during a public health emergency, we will hold you accountable,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. “Retailers who try to make a quick buck by exploiting others will face civil and criminal consequences.”
Anyone who may have purchased bottles of sanitizer from the River Vale 7-Eleven is asked to call police at 201-664-1111.