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Three ahatas shut for illegal operations in Gurugram
In a joint raid of the chief minister ’s flying squad and the excise department late Friday night, three ahatas (drinking places) running illegally beyond permissible timings, which were also serving flavoured hookah, were seized, police said on Saturday
In a joint raid of the chief minister ’s flying squad and the excise department late Friday night, three ahatas (drinking places) running illegally beyond permissible timings, which were also serving flavoured hookah, were seized, police said on Saturday.
Officials have sent the recovered liquid flavours and hookahs to a laboratory for testing.
Police and excise officers had been receiving complaints for the past few months, and a special police team was formed to raid ahatas in sectors 56, 65, and Badshahpur.
Pawan Kumar, the owner of Refill Ahata, has been booked, said the police officials on Saturday. Aakash Kumar and Deepak, the CEO and the owner of Tripplers in Sector 72, respectively, were also booked on Friday night for the same violation. In another place Western village-A Garden Café in Sector 62 more than 15 people were found drinking liquor and consuming hookah.
Deputy superintendent of police (crime) Inderjeet Yadav said that people were found partying at all these three places at night, and they had advertised about those on social media for bookings. “Three of the places were serving hookah and liquor despite the ban. More than 15 people were present at each place,” Yadav said.
VK Beniwal, deputy commissioner of excise and taxation, Gurugram (East), said that they have started a crackdown on ahatas which have been illegally serving alcohol and hookah in the city. As part of the crackdown, the raid was conducted on Friday night and those people were arrested. Some of the suspects fled from the spot seeing the police teams, but have been identified,” Beniwal said.
“The suspects had even called DJ to perform and took bookings for the event. We have formed teams and we are conducting surprise checks across the city to check if people are operating illegally and also serving hookah, which is banned,” he said.
Police said that the owners did not have requisite licences from the excise department to serve alcohol and hookah. Consignments of liquor and hookahs were seized from their possession, said the police.
Three cases under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 120 (conspiracy), and sections 4 and 6 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, and Section 72-C of the Punjab Excise Act were registered against the suspects at Badshahpur and Sector 65 police stations on Saturday morning, according to the police.
Police said that until 2016, hookahs were served with tobacco molasses, which were banned by the Punjab and Haryana high court.
Yadav said that they will continue to crack down on similar establishments serving hookahs.
In February 2017, the district administration had enforced Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to ban hookah bars in the city. The move came with a view to make the city nicotine-free.
