Police from the Sola High Court police station raided an illegal hookah bar operating from a café in Ahmedabad’s Chharodi area and seized hookah-related items worth ₹10,080, officials said on Tuesday.
According to police, two persons were booked under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, for allegedly serving nicotine-based hookah products to customers.
The raid was carried out on March 22 under the supervision of Police Inspector K N Bhukan. During patrolling, the police team received information that a café named “The Obsidian Cafe,” located opposite Aristo Club near Sola-Chharodi, was allegedly running an illegal hookah bar.
Police said the café was suspected of serving hookahs containing nicotine-flavoured tobacco instead of permitted herbal flavours.
Acting on the tip-off, police raided the café along with independent witnesses and allegedly found hookah equipment and flavoured tobacco products being used on the premises.
During the operation, police detained Mayank Nankubhai Goraviyala, 25, a resident of Naranpura, who was present at the café. During questioning, he allegedly told police that the café was being operated in partnership with Rohit Mangilal Mahawar, 29, a resident of ONGC Colony near Sabarmati.
The seized items included 12 hookah sets worth ₹9,600, four sealed flavour packets valued at ₹480, and eight plastic containers containing hookah flavouring substances.
A case has been registered at the Sola High Court Police Station under provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.