As part of the inspection of hostels in the backdrop of a recent rape and murder at a south Mumbai hostel, the city police have busted an illegal hookah parlour. This parlour was operating out of a cafe in an Andheri bungalow that also housed a hostel. Cops nabbed staff serving hookah to customers in the packed ground-floor eatery, which is illegal.

The hostel, occupied by three men and seven women, is on the first floor of the bungalow. The police acted on a tip-off and recovered hookah stands, tobacco, shegdi and coal. An officer has stated in a report that the parlour was unsafe for women in the hostel. The hookah was also served with tobacco, which is banned.