Police teams hunt for gutkha racket kingpin in New Delhi

Police said the prime accused Amith Jain (48) was operating an illegal gutkha unit from the capital over the last five years. “We have traced his phone calls to Delhi. Following the arrest of his gang members, Amith had gone into hiding. Three special teams of police have rushed to Delhi to nab him,” said a senior police officer. 

Police cracked down on the banned tobacco products manufacturing unit on Saturday and arrested four persons identified as Raguraman (45), Ajay (30), Ramdev (24) and Sojiram (29), all hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. They were produced before Sulur Magistrate Vediappan on Sunday and remanded them in judicial custody for 15 days. The accused persons were lodged them at the Coimbatore Central Prison. 

Further investigations by police revealed that raw materials for making banned tobacco products were sourced from New Delhi. Gutkha and other manufactured tobacco products were supplied to various states from Coimbatore. 

Police said Amith Jain had established a wide network of similar illegal manufacturers across the country. 

“We suspect also suspect that some local police officers may also be involved in the racket,” said a police officer. 

The police have now widened their investigation to know if there are similar illegal gutkha manufacturing units in Coimbatore. “There were about 72 gutkha and tobacco products manufacturing units in Coimbatore until their ban in 2012. We investigate if they are operating still in a clandestine manner,” said the police official. 

Meanwhile the police will also move a petition in the court seeking to take the arrested gutkha manufacturers on custody for a further probe.