Illegal Hookah Bar Busted at Ahmedabad Café; Five Arrested in SMC Raid

Ahmedabad: In a major crackdown, the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) raided Cherish Café near Madhav Party Plot, close to the Zundal underpass, within the Chandkheda police jurisdiction and uncovered an illegal hookah bar operating under the guise of an eatery.

According to investigators, the café management was illegally serving nicotine-laced tobacco flavours instead of permitted herbal variants to make quick profits. During the raid, officials seized materials worth Rs 62,100, including 38 hookahs, 43 pipes, 90 chillums, foil rolls and two kg of charcoal.

The police arrested the café owner, Abdul Hamid Abdul Bari Shaikh, along with four employees identified as Rizwan Tahir Ali, Ainul Islam Nur Islam, Dilwar Maizul Hussain and Majid Alam Zahur Rehman.

The raid has also raised questions about the functioning of the Chandkheda police, who were allegedly unaware of the illegal operation within their jurisdiction. According to media reports, action may be taken against those responsible. DeshGujarat