Nagpur: In a late-night crackdown, Jaripatka Police raided an illegal hookah parlour operating at Oro Café, located on the first floor above Kingzway Kitchen in Jaripatka, and booked its operators for running the establishment without a licence.

Acting on a tip-off at around 11.50 pm on July 4, 2026, police conducted a raid in the presence of panch witnesses and found café operators Soyal Ashok Jambhulkar (25), a resident of Indiranagar, Jaripatka, and Daniel Pravin Massey (25), a resident of Mohan Nagar, Gaddigodam, Sadar, allegedly serving beer and government-prohibited tobacco-based hookah products to seven customers.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that they were operating the hookah parlour in collusion with café owner Jonty Solomon Philips (27), a resident of Sant Martin Nagar, Jaripatka, for financial gain and without obtaining the necessary permissions.

Police seized beer bottles, hookah pots, various flavoured tobacco-based hookah products and other materials collectively valued at ₹92,230.

A total of 10 persons, including the café owner, waiters and customers, have been booked under Section 68 of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act and Sections 4 and 21 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, as amended by the Maharashtra Amendment Act, 2018. Further investigation is underway.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Nagpur Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil, Joint Commissioner Naveenchandra Reddy, Additional Commissioner of Police (North Division) Vinita Sahu, DCP Zone VI Sandeep Pakhale and ACP Jaripatka Division Satyaveer Bandiwar, by a team led by Senior PI Anil Taksande and PSI Ananta Garmode along with other personnel.