Hookah parlour raided in city; 42 persons booked

The crime branch of the Mumbai Police raided a hookah parlour being operated from the terrace of a hotel in suburban Andheri in the early hours of Saturday and booked 42 persons, an official said.

During the raid conducted around 2:30 am, the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) found that at least 27 customers were being served hukkah, he said.

The hookah was found to be tobacco-mixed, the official said, adding that various hookah flavours, pots, cigarettes and other equipment were seized.

A case was registered against the staff of the parlour, the customers and others under various sections of the India Penal Code (IPC), the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act and the Disaster Management Act, he said.

A ban on hookah was imposed in Mumbai after the 2017 Kamla Mills fire incident in which 14 people lost their lives.