In a major crackdown, Crime Branch Unit 5 of Nagpur Police raided Second Floor Café located at Laxmi Bhavan, Gautamare Complex in Sitabuldi, for illegally operating a hookah parlour and serving banned flavoured tobacco products. Four persons were apprehended during the late-night operation and goods worth ₹3.83 lakh were seized.
Acting on a tip-off, the police conducted the raid between 1 am and 3:30 am on June 17. The team found that the café was being used to provide customers with tobacco-laced hookahs for commercial gain, in violation of government regulations.
The arrested accused 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.
The police seized hookah pots, various flavoured tobacco products, accessories, and cash — amounting to a total of ₹3,83,580.
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, and the Maharashtra Prohibition of Hookah Parlours (Amendment) Act, 2018. The accused and the seized materials were handed over to Sitabuldi Police for further action.
The raid was conducted under the guidance of Commissioner of Police Ravinder Kumar Singal, Joint CP Navinchandra Reddy, Additional CP (Crime) Vasant Pardeshi, DCP (Detection) Rahul Makanikar, and ACP (Crime Branch) Abhijeet Patil. The operation was led by PI Sandeep Bua along with a dedicated team of officers and staff.
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