Bajrang Dal activists storm hookah lounge in Kanpur

KANPUR: Bajrang Dal activists allegedly stormed a lounge in south Kanpur and chased away youngsters, some of them smoking hookahs. Chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, the activists allegedly misbehaved with many of the girls. A girl even fainted inside the lounge.

KANPUR: Bajrang Dal activists allegedly stormed a lounge in south Kanpur and chased away youngsters, some of them smoking hookahs. Chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, the activists allegedly misbehaved with many of the girls who were lectured on ‘morality’ before they were allowed to leave. A girl fainted inside the lounge, ‘Lord of the Rings’, after the mob confronted her and friends, who hurriedly took her away, said eyewitnesses who did not wish to be named.

The Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad are running a campaign against hookah bars in Kanpur, where the outfits believe the young generation was being addicted to drugs and obscenity. The Dal’s city convenor Ashish Tripathi said the raid was justified and aimed at not allowing the youngsters to fall in a trap.

“You see Pakistan is an enemy country, always looking for opportunity to hit India. These bars are openly giving Pakistan made flavour (tobacco mixed molasses) to youngsters,” he said.

Tripathi added: “They (youngsters) are being turned into drug addicts and they are being blackmailed through CCTV footage.We demand a ban on them,” he said. Lounge owner Teejinder Singh said it was the responsibility of the police to act against the bars on the wrong side of fence. District magistrate Surendra Singh said the administration would shut down hookah bars in Kanpur. Govind Nagar SHO Sanjay Misra said no complaint had been given to the police. If anyone came up with one, a case would be registered, he said.