Nagpur: Continuing its crackdown on narcotics and prohibited tobacco products, Sitabuldi police have registered a case against operators of an illegal hookah parlour in the Dharampeth area under the city police commissioner’s special drive “Operation Thunder – Let Us Unite to Build a Drug-Free Society”.

The action was carried out on January 14, 2026, between 11.10 pm and 11.55 pm, following specific intelligence inputs. A police team conducted a panchanama-backed raid at De-Anatolia Café near Coffee House Square, Dharampeth, which was found operating as an unauthorised hookah parlour.

During the raid, the police caught the accused red-handed while allegedly providing prohibited tobacco-based hookah products to customers without any licence. The accused have been identified as Roger Ahmed Sheikh (19), a resident of Telangkhedi, Ambazari; Harsh Prakash Rajpal (22), a resident of Seminary Hills, Gittikhadan; along with Arya Meshram (24) and Abhilash Bhave (32), a resident of Ambazari. The investigation revealed that the accused were running the hookah parlour illegally in connivance with each other for financial gain.

Police seized hookah equipment, including hookah pots, various flavoured tobacco products and other related materials, collectively valued at Rs 5,400.

A case has been registered at Sitabuldi police station under Sections 4(1), 5 and 21 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Amendment Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Nityanand Jha, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Sitabuldi Division) Kiran Poplaghat, and Senior Police Inspector Vitthalsing Rajput. The raid was executed by Assistant Police Inspector Shyam Warange, along with police personnel Harshad Bhalerao, Amol Nagrik, Pravin Dahale and Mousami Katre.