The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and police authorities have raided four allegedly illegal hookah bars operating under the cover of cafes and lounges in Sarkhej, Ellisbridge, Chandkheda and the Infocity police station area, according to a report by Nav Gujarat Samay. The raids resulted in the questioning of operators, staff and customers, and the seizure of hookahs, flavour packets, pipes, chillams, coal and related material.
The action followed complaints about hookah bars operating across Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar despite the ban. The report said the complaints had reached the office of the Director General of Police, after which enforcement teams targeted the four establishments. The locations named in the report include TCS Lounge on Gujarat College Road, Kings Cafe near Zundal Circle, Jackal Live Cafe near Sindhu Bhavan Road and Tempation Cafe in the basement of Jai Krishna Hotel near Bhaijipura Bridge.
At TCS Lounge in the Ellisbridge area, Inspector J.J. Chavda’s team found operator Pathik Bhupendra Shah, manager Krunal Bhadrank Shah, cashier Haresh Ramesh Thakor and two other workers, the report said. Officials seized 40 hookahs, 22 flavour packets, 74 pipes, 19 chillams and 577 packets of different flavours. The report also stated that the establishment had previously faced raids by multiple agencies but had continued operating.
In Chandkheda, Inspector B.P. Desai’s team raided Kings Cafe near Khodiyar Kathiyawadi Hall, close to Zundal Circle. Operator Savan Dalpat Parmar and two other people involved in counter operations and hookah preparation were found at the premises. The seized material included 25 hookahs, 17 chillams, 26 flavour packets, foil paper and coal.
A raid was also conducted at Jackal Live Cafe near a concert party plot on Sindhu Bhavan Road in the Sarkhej area. The report identified Jigar Hasmukh Patel as the operator and said officials seized 23 hookahs, 11 containers of flavour with pipes and 45 flavour packets. The report described Sarkhej and the surrounding ring-road areas as having a high concentration of cafes allegedly operating hookah services.
In the Infocity police station jurisdiction, a team led by Inspector Mitesh Trivedi raided Tempation Cafe, allegedly operating from the basement of Jai Krishna Hotel on Airport Road near Bhaijipura Bridge. Operator Rohit Sudama Pandey and 11 customers were questioned. Officials seized six hookahs, seven flavour packets, four flavour containers and four chillams.
The report also carried allegations that local police personnel or their intermediaries had held meetings at some establishments and that an earlier operation at a Sindhu Bhavan Road venue was interrupted because an IPS officer was present. These claims were presented as discussion or allegations in the source report and were not independently established in the supplied material.
The raids highlight the enforcement challenge posed by businesses operating hookah services under cafe or lounge identities. The report did not provide details of the specific legal sections applied, the penalties imposed, or the next court proceedings. Further action will depend on the formal cases filed and the follow-up taken by the civic and police authorities.
