Illegal hookah bar unearthed in Karnal; FIR against four

Tribune News Service

Karnal, August 6

A joint operation by the Chief Minister’s Flying Squad, local police, excise and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Karnal, unearthed an illegal hookah bar operating within a restaurant-cum-bar in Sector 7, Karnal, on Monday evening. The team recovered material containing nicotine beyond permissible limits.

Officials revealed that running a hookah bar was strictly prohibited. Despite this, the owners were charging Rs 3,000 per hookah. After the raid, an FIR was registered against four persons — manager Rakesh, Emmanuel Gomes and owners Vikas Bansal and Amit Gupta — under Section 6 of the Poisons Act, 1919, and Section 21 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA), at the Sector-32/33 police station, said Ajit Singh, DSP, CM Flying Squad.

Acting on a tip-off, the joint team, including Drug Control Officer Vikas and Sub-Inspector Sultan along with others, raided the restaurant on Monday evening, where they found hookahs being served to customers.

During the inspection, the team members found mango flavour containing 0.5 per cent nicotine, along with 21 boxes containing various flavours of tobacco. “Samples of different flavours were collected by the Drug Control Officer and have been handed over to the local police. These samples will be sent to the FSL, Madhuban, for testing,” the DSP added.