Nagpur: Acting on a tip-off, Crime Branch Unit 5 of Nagpur Police cracked down on an illegal hookah parlour operating under the cover of a café in the bustling Gotmare Complex at Laxmi Bhavan, Dharampeth, in the early hours of Tuesday. Four individuals were arrested for allegedly serving banned flavoured tobacco products to customers.
The raid was conducted at the Second Floor Café between 1:00 am and 3:30 am, where police found hookahs loaded with flavoured tobacco being served for commercial gain — a clear violation of state laws banning such activity.
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The arrested individuals have been identified as Sunny Vikas Borkar (25), resident of Ambedkar Nagar, Dharampeth, Harsh Suresh Khandarkar (22), resident of Ramnagar, Hill Top, Arpan Ravi Jamgade (19), resident of Hill Top, Sudam Nagari, and Brinal Sudhir Gaware (20), resident of Ambedkar Nagar, Dharampeth.
During the raid, police seized hookah pots, a variety of banned flavoured tobacco products, other equipment, and cash, collectively valued at approximately Rs 3.83 lakh.
A case has been registered at Sitabuldi Police Station under Sections 4(1), 5(1), and 21 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Hookah Parlours (Amendment) Act, 2018. The accused and the seized material have been handed over to Sitabuldi Police for further proceedings.
This operation was executed under the supervision of Commissioner of Police Ravinder Kumar Singal, Joint Commissioner Navinchandra Reddy, Additional CP (Crime) Vasant Pardeshi, DCP (Detection) Rahul Makanikar, and ACP (Crime Branch) Abhijeet Patil.
The team was led by PI Sandeep Bua, supported by officers and personnel including Chandrashekhar Gautam, Rajesingh Rathod, Ramesh Taklikar, Rupesh Nanavatkar, Anis Khan, Pravin Bhagat, Ganesh Thakre, Pramod Bawane, Vishal Nagbhidkar, Devchand Thote, Sunil Yadav, Amol Bhakte, Sudhir Tiwari, and Urvashi Evnate.
Police have reiterated their commitment to cracking down on establishments that flout anti-tobacco and public health laws.
