Hookah parlour owner booked under juvenile justice act

The Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act was used for the first time against the owner of a hookah parlour in Mira Road on late Friday night after three under age boys were found on its premises.

The arrest was made by the anti-human trafficking unit of the Thane (rural) police, who conducted the raid and found that the owners were supplying the flavoured tobacco used in hookahs.

Acting on a tip off, a team led by Assistant Police Inspector Sanjay Bangar under the instructions of the Mahesh Patil, SP, swooped down on Arabian Nights — a hookah joint in Kashimira area in Mira Road late in the night.

While 14 patrons, including a woman and three underage boys were rounded up in the raids, three people, the owner of the joint and other staff members, were arrested under section 77 of the JJ Act which carries a punishment of imprisonment up to seven years and fine of Rs 1 lakh.

A case under the relevant sections of the Control of Tobacco Products Act (COPTA) and Bombay Police Act has also been registered in this context by the police, which seized hookah pots from which the tobacco was being consumed and music system from the premises.