Manager of illegal hookah bar held

Tribune News Service

Sonepat, July 26

The Chief Minister’s flying squad, Rohtak, on Monday raided an illegal hookah bar situated on the Murthal road here and arrested one of its managers.

In all, five persons, including owners of the hookah bar, have been booked. The other accused managed to escape. The police recovered seven bottles of liquor, six hookahs, 170-gm banned tobacco and flavours from the spot.

Sub-inspector Jaibhagwan, posted in the CM’s flying squad, had received a tip-off that owners of Café Karev were offering liquor and running a hookah bar illegally.

Subsequently, a team of the Excise Department raided the café and found several persons inside violating Covid norms and smoking hookah.

The team nabbed café manager Gorakh Prasad Singh, a native of Patna. He reportedly told the police that Satender Rathi and Ravi Dahiya were operating the café.

The two owners, along with manager Sunny Malik, cashier Amit Rathi and Gorakh Prasad, have been booked under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003; Poisons Act, 1919; and Disaster Management Act and Excise Act, 2020, was registered.

The CM’s flying squad handed over Gorakh Prasad to the police for further investigation.