In a first, NCB, BSF raid hookah bars in Amritsar

In a first, two Central agencies — the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Border Security Force (BSF) — have raided several restaurants allegedly involved in serving hookahs to their clients in an illegal manner.

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During the raid, they recovered seven hookahs from there and asked the police stations concerned, including the Ranjit Avenue and Airport road police stations, to lodge FIRs against restaurant owners and managers.

While the airport police have registered a case, the Ranjit Avenue police have also initiated action against the offenders.

Confirming the raids, an NCB official, wishing not to be named, said during the raid, staff of restaurants fled the scene while the youngsters, who were puffing the hookahs, were allowed to go after a stern warning. He said the agency recently received a number of complaints regarding illegal hookah bars, which were running the restaurants in posh localities without any legal permission.

Following this, teams of the NCB and the BSF raided three restaurants in Ranjit Avenue and on the Airport road here on Saturday night.

This is the first such action by the NCB and the BSF in Punjab. The incident has baffled the local police.