Cracking a whip against illegal hookah joints which have mushroomed in the twin-city, a team from the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police raided one such establishment in Mira Road and booked the operator and other staffers under sections 285 (for negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC late on Sunday night.
This apart from slapping other relevant sections of the IPC and and Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act) - (COPTA), 2003 for tobacco-laced products. Acting on a tip-off a team from the Mira Road police station swooped down on-ARL Craving Lounge- an eatery located in the Hatkesh area of Mira Road which doubled up as a hookah joint.
Apart from finding use of tobacco-laced hookah, the police team also observed charcoal burners in the hookah parlour which was operating sans safety measures and without proper fire exits which could lead to fire traps in case of an emergency situation.
While the manager of the establishment identified as-Akbar Nisar Ali (24) and waiter Shaan Ali (18) were arrested, soliciting customers were rounded up by the police team.
Scores of illegal joints catering hookah-laced products to patrons-especially youngsters continue to operate with impunity in the twin-city under the garb of serving herbal flavours on the virtue of licenses obtained from the civic administration under the shops and establishment act which neither allows to run a restaurant on its roof, nor to serve hookah.
However, at most of these hookah joints the rulebook goes up in smoke as the law enforcing agencies including the fire brigade department have chosen to play a blind eye towards the illegalities. The hookah den operators charge anywhere between Rs. 1,500 to Rs.2,200 for a 45-minute smoking session from their patrons.
