Connect with us
Friday,12-June-2026
Breaking News

Maharashtra

Juhu Hookah Parlour Bust: 45 People, Including 5 Young Women, Booked

Published

on

Mumbai, June 2025 – In a major crackdown, Mumbai Crime Branch officials raided an illegal hookah parlour in Juhu late last night, detaining a total of 45 people—including five young women—and registering cases under multiple legal provisions.

Discovery and Arrests

At around 1 a.m., Mumbai Police’s Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) raided the rooftop lounge, where patrons were being served hookah. Officers found that at least 30 customers were partaking in tobacco-laced hookah smoking. The establishment was operating without any valid licence, in clear violation of city regulations instituted after the tragic 2017 Kamala Mills blaze.

A total of 45 individuals were taken into custody—comprising staff, management, and patrons. Among them, five were young women in their early twenties, all of whom now face charges. The CIU also seized hookah paraphernalia including pipes, charcoal, tobacco mixtures, and multiple flavouring agents.

Legal Action

The accused have been booked under:

  • Various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),
  • The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA),
  • The Disaster Management Act, which enforced the hookah ban post the Kamala Mills fire.

Officials emphasized that hookah parlours have been strictly proscribed within Mumbai’s municipal limits following the rooftop fire disaster in 2017, which claimed 14 lives.

Safety Concerns

Authorities expressed alarm over the use of charcoal heaters and enclosed space setups—both serious fire hazards. The rooftop venue lacked any proper fire safety certifications or equipment, prompting fears of repeat incidents. City regulations firmly prohibit unauthorized structures atop buildings, particularly due to their vulnerability to rapid fire spread .

Wider Context

Since the Kamala Mills tragedy, Mumbai Police have consistently targeted illegal hookah dens. Multiple establishments have been raided in Andheri, Bandra, and other suburbs since 2021. Notably, a similar rooftop operation in Andheri in February 2021 resulted in 42 people being booked under the same statutes.

What’s Next?

All 45 detainees have been charged and are undergoing legal proceedings. Investigators are examining the hookah lounge’s ownership chain, regulatory breaches, and whether its patrons posed broader public health or safety risks. Officials also plan to study fire safety compliance more rigorously to prevent any repeat of past tragedies.

Why It Matters

  • Public Safety: Enclosed hookah parlours, especially without proper fire measures, are high-risk zones.
  • Legal Enforcement: Despite bans, illicit hookah operations persist, highlighting gaps in oversight.
  • Policy Reminder: The Kamala Mills fire remains a stark reminder of the need for vigilance in Mumbai’s nightlife spots.

Maharashtra

Mira Road C-Queen Palace Orchestra Bar raided, 12 women recovered, 9 arrested

Published

on

A team led by DCP Rahul Chavan of Mira Road Police Commissionerate, Circle 1, raided the Sea Queen Palace Orchestra Bar in front of Daraz Dhaba on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway under the limits of Kashigaon Police Station on Mira Road. During the raid, the police rescued 12 women. A cashier and 8 waiters were arrested, including the driver, owner and manager of the bar who are absconding. During the raid, Rs 50,000 in cash was seized. Along with this, illegal stocks of whiskey and beer were seized. Further investigation is underway in the case. It is said that an illegal dance and entertainment party was going on in the bar. During this, the police raided and arrested the accused and also released 12 dancers.

Continue Reading

Crime

KEM Hospital student Sejal Pawar submits written apology after viral remarks on cadavers

Published

on

Mumbai, June 12: Sejal Pawar, a medical student at Mumbai’s King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, has submitted a written apology to the institution after a video of her making controversial remarks about cadavers went viral on social media, triggering widespread criticism and legal action.

Hospital sources said senior doctors were deeply upset by Pawar’s comments, particularly because cadavers are voluntarily donated for medical education and are regarded with the utmost respect by the medical fraternity.

According to hospital authorities, Pawar has not been suspended, and no disciplinary action, such as suspension, has been taken against her so far. However, officials indicated that while the institution does not intend to be excessively harsh, it will deal with the matter seriously.

The senior doctors of the hospital have told her that her statement on social media has hurt them a lot, sources said, adding that the issue concerns the dignity accorded to body donors who make medical education possible.

Pawar, who hails from Pune, came under intense scrutiny after a video clip from a public programme went viral online. In the clip, she allegedly made objectionable remarks related to the private parts of cadavers while discussing a sensitive medical education topic in a light-hearted manner.

The controversy prompted strong backlash on social media and led to the registration of an FIR against her. Maharashtra Cyber Police has also initiated action in the matter.

Taking cognisance of the incident, KEM Hospital ordered an internal inquiry and constituted a committee to examine the issue. The hospital administration directed the panel to submit its report at the earliest.

Amid mounting criticism and institutional scrutiny, earlier, Pawar issued a public apology through a detailed post on Instagram.

“Recently, a video clip of mine has gone viral on social media. After watching the video again, I realised how much my words hurt people’s sentiments,” she said in a video post.

She acknowledged that the subject she spoke about was highly sensitive and said she never intended to offend anyone.

“I am not going to justify it, never going to take the wrong side. I wanted to come here and make a public apology. I take full responsibility for my mistake,” she said.

Calling the episode a major learning experience, Pawar added that as a student, she had learned an important lesson and would ensure that such an incident is never repeated in the future.

The hospital’s inquiry report is awaited, while authorities continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the viral video and its impact on public sentiment and medical ethics.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Politics has become trade of self-interest amid rising market of plate-hopping politicians: Shiv Sena(UBT) in ‘Saamana’

Published

on

Mumbai, June 12: Amid several MPs and legislators deserting the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after the party’s rout in the recently held state Assembly polls, the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Friday claimed that politics in the country has degenerated into a mere trade of self-interest.

It said that the voters cast their ballots based on a specific party symbol and ideology, expecting representation, only for self-serving political opportunists “to immediately jump from one plate to another for personal gain”. Much like the nursery rhyme ‘Hop along, little pumpkin’, these opportunistic politicians and their leaders hop all the way to Delhi.

The Thackeray camp, in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, argued that just as various varieties of grapes and mangoes have been developed, new breeds of these volatile politicians have now emerged — and leading the pack is the ‘Saayoni Ghosh’ variety, a seed that will undoubtedly become famous as ‘Saayoni Seeds’.

The editorial stated that many are left wondering how to deal with characters like Saayoni Ghosh. “During the West Bengal Assembly election campaign, Ghosh made a name for herself with her sharp, fiery speeches. She crafted an image as a “mini-Mamata”, ripping into the BJP at every rally and proclaiming Mamata Banerjee as her mother figure. Consequently, when cracks began to appear in the Trinamool Congress parliamentary ranks, few expected her name to be on that list,” it added.

The editorial further stated, with fortunes shifting at Mamata’s camp, Saayoni Ghosh has abandoned her “mother figure” and the Trinamool Congress “to park her horse firmly inside the BJP stable. While the defecting TMC MPs have formed an independent group for now, they are bound to merge with the BJP sooner rather than later”.

According to the editorial, the irony is stark. “When Raghav Chadha, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP, abandoned his party to join the BJP, Ghosh had expressed immense fury over his betrayal. She lamented the complete loss of loyalty and morality in modern politics. When asked back then if she too would eventually defect to the BJP, an enraged Ghosh had snapped: ‘I am Ghosh, not Chadha, who would turn into a pair of shorts’. Today, however, she has metaphorically become that very entity, casting off her cloak of honesty to join the ranks of those dancing to the ruling party’s tunes,” it said.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena observed that unbridled ambition and betrayal turn politicians into “an eggplant on a plate – a turncoat.”

“This is no longer just an idiom; it has become the bitter reality of contemporary Indian politics. A turncoat politician, like an eggplant, can be mixed into any dish on the stove – from bharit (mashed eggplant) to bhajiyas (fritters); it possesses no distinct flavour of its own,” it commented.

The editorial said that Maharashtra’s political landscape has recently witnessed a bumper crop of such turncoat politicians, and their cultivation is being thoroughly nurtured. “The case of Saayoni Ghosh serves as an ideal case study. These ‘plate-hopping’ politicians change colours faster than chameleons – a phenomenon so rampant it could warrant a PhD research study. The style of opportunistic politics has flourished so heavily that everyone seems to want to become a turncoat. This marks a severe degradation of the country’s politics and ideology,” it noted.

“Ultimately, these politicians have become cheap and universally available commodities. Lacking an inherent spine or flavour, they soften and wilt the moment they are exposed to political pressure. They can no longer be trusted,” said the editorial.

Continue Reading

Trending