A hookah center at Himayatnagar was raided by the Special Crime Team (CCS) of the Hyderabad Detective Department, arresting 13 people, including 11 minors who were present there.
In addition to the hookah pots, the police seized three flavors of hookah, four Royal Stag Quarter bottles, 14 mobile phones, and Rs 2.03 lakh in cash.
The Joint Commissioner of Police, CCS Detective Department, Dr Gajarao Bhupal, said one portion of the house had been converted into a hookah café by the organizer Mohd Iftikar, 31. After noticing that there are many colleges in the Himayatnagar region, he came up with the idea.
In response to the information, the police raided the hookah café and found minors consuming hookah after paying Iftikhar to use the service.
For further action, the 13 accused and the seized property were handed over to the Narayanguda police station.
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It is worth mentioning that the use of hookah, cigarettes and alcohol by under-21 youngsters has led to many accidents involving them. In Sindhi Colony, Gachibowli, Tolichowki, Maredpally and other areas of the city, they flock to clandestine hookah parlors.
Hookah was banned in Hyderabad in 2017 after parlors that were allowed to operate legally were found to be violating regulations. In addition to allowing minors, they also served them alcohol.
All the products needed for smoking hookah, such as hookah pots, flavors, coal, are available openly. Regardless of the buyer’s age, the seller does not check their ID cards. In regards to banning hookah, authorities need to answer what purpose is being served by doing so when it is easily accessible to underage children in their safe zones.
The rule regarding identity cards (ID cards) is barely followed, said a high-level official in response to a question.
“Not only are underage children spotted in hookah outlets but also around pan shops, which sell hookah pots, flavors, and coal. Such complaints are registered on a daily basis. It is a herculean task to conduct checks everywhere and every day? We catch hold of the sellers and consumers when a complaint is registered or when a raid is conducted and they are caught red-handed,” he said.
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