Rajura police seize Rs 9.81 lakh of hookah shisha and tobacco from car hidden in thicket
Rajura police found banned flavoured tobacco and hookah shisha in a Swift Dzire hidden in thorny bushes near Kapangaon; the driver and owner have fled.
Rajura (Chandrapur): Rajura police have taken custody of a Swift Dzire car that was hidden in thorny bushes in the Kapangaon area. Banned flavoured tobacco and a stock of hookah shisha were found in the car. Including the car, the police have seized goods worth Rs 9,81,040.
The action took place at around 4 am on September 28, 2026. The car's driver and owner have absconded. Rajura police have registered a case against both.
According to information available, Probationary Sub-Inspector Pravina Prakash Padole of Rajura police station was on patrol on the night of September 27. She was accompanied by Police Havaldar Vinod, Police Amaldar Shafiq and a woman police constable. At around 4 am on September 28, they saw a Swift Dzire (registration number MH 47 AB 9884) parked in a suspicious condition in thorny bushes by the roadside near Kapangaon.
When the police went closer, there was nobody in or around the vehicle. However, a strong smell of flavoured tobacco was coming from it. The police therefore called local panch witnesses and searched the vehicle in their presence.
The goods were packed in a total of 15 white and yellow plastic sacks on the middle and front seats of the car. The flavoured tobacco and hookah shisha are harmful to human health and have been banned by the government.
The seized goods include hookah shisha tobacco of the brands "Eagle", "Hola" and "Maza 108", valued at Rs 2,81,040. The car used for transport, valued at Rs 7 lakh, was also seized. In all, goods worth Rs 9,81,040 are in police custody.
The police team contacted food safety officials and completed the legal procedure. The entire seizure was also recorded on video through the e-Sakshya app.
The case against the absconding driver and owner was registered at Rajura police station on the complaint of Probationary Sub-Inspector Pravina Padole. It has been filed under Sections 274 and 275 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and various sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Sub-Inspector Laxman Subhash Lokare is investigating further under the guidance of Police Inspector Nitinkumar Chincholkar.
