Nagpur: Ambazari Police have registered a case against five persons, including the owner and manager of a cafe, for allegedly operating an illegal hookah parlour and serving tobacco-based hookah products to customers.

The action was carried out between 11.30 pm on August 13 and 12.15 am on August 14 during Operation All Out. A team from Ambazari Police conducted a raid at GenZee’s Cafe on Ambazari Road after receiving information about the illegal activity.

Police said cafe owner Nitin Balakrishna Jadhav (35) and manager/owner Nikhil Pradeep Gawande (25) were allegedly found providing prohibited tobacco-based hookah products to customers. The investigation reportedly established that the accused were operating the hookah parlour without a licence for financial gain.

During the raid, police seized four hookah pots, tobacco-based hookah products of different flavours and other related materials, collectively valued at around Rs 8,000.

A case has been registered at Ambazari Police Station against the cafe owners and customers — five accused in total — under Section 274 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 5, 6, 7 and 20 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, along with the Maharashtra Amendment Act, 2018.

Further investigation is underway.