16-05-2025
Cops raid illegal hookah bar, arrest two
Lucknow: In a late-night crackdown, Gomtinagar police raided a restaurant near Jaipuria School and busted an
illegal hookah bar
being operated in violation of
health and safety laws
. Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by sub inspector Gurpreet Kaur, along with SI Deepak Kumar Yadav and SI Shyam Singh, raided the premises around 12.30 am.
Police found three operational hookahs placed on a table inside the restaurant and another broken hookah with a pipe underneath. Eight containers of flavoured tobacco were also recovered. Two individuals, identified as Satyendra Kumar (resident of Vinay Khand, Gomtinagar; native of Dhakwa, Malihabad) and Anuj Kumar (resident of Vineet Khand, Gomtinagar), were caught while attempting to flee.
Satyendra Kumar identified himself as the manager of Pebbles restaurant and stated that the establishment was owned by a man named Manish. Anuj Kumar admitted that he worked there as a hookah server. Neither of them could produce a licence for running a hookah bar.
The accused were booked under Sections 223, 271, and 272 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 13(k) of the COTPA Act.
