MUMBAI: The Mumbai police late Tuesday night detained and later released standup comedian and Bigg Boss 17 winner Munawar Faruqui and 14 others for allegedly consuming tobacco-based hookah at a hookah bar in South Mumbai, the officials said.
According to the Mumbai police, a team conducted a raid on a hookah bar named Sabalan and found 14 people consuming hookah, including Faruqui. After verifying that tobacco was being smoked, an offence was registered under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) at the local MRA Marg police station. A police official said that since it was a bailable offence, the accused were released with notice.
The raid was carried out at 9.45 pm on Tuesday after police received a tip-off that some patrons were smoking tobacco-based hookahs at the parlour in the guise of smoking herbal hookahs.
Faruqui and 13 others have been booked under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), along with the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 336 (act endangering the life or personal safety of others).
In the raid, the police seized a total of Rs 4,400 in cash and nine hookah pots worth Rs 13,500. Further investigation into the matter is currently underway.
Munawar was one of the most popular contestants of the 17th season of the Colors show. He hogged the limelight ever since he entered the Bigg Boss house.
Faruqui had hit the headlines in 2021 after he was arrested in Indore following a complaint from a BJP MLA’s son who accused him of making jokes about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The arrest was met with heavy criticism and Faruqui was released after the Supreme Court granted him bail. (ANI)