Maharashtra to hand over gutkha case to CBI in 2 days: R R Patil

Maharashtra government today said it would hand over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the next two days the case of alleged links of gutkha barons with the underworld.

"CBI has accepted the request made by Maharashtra government to take over the case and the entire process of handing over the matter would be completed in the next two days," deputy chief minister R R Patil told reporters here.

Patil, who also holds the home portfolio, said CBI officials had met the Mumbai police yesterday regarding the case and the state government would soon bring out a notification on handing over the case to CBI.

The state government was handing over the case to CBI since the accused were in foreign nation, he added. The state police should be congratulated for digging out the information about gutka kings allegedly having links with the underworld, he said.

"The meeting of gutkha kings Rasiklal Dhariwal of Manikchand gutkha and J M Joshi of Goa Gutka with underworld don over resolving their financial dispute had taken place in 1999 during the saffron tenure but it was revealed in October last year during interrogoration of Jumbo and Pancharya who were arrested in different cases," Patil said.

He said the police had arrested the two in a case of possession of illegal weapons and extortion and they had revealed the links of the gutka kings with the underworld.

"They revealed that the gutka kings had met underworld don for settling the financial dispute between them that arose after Joshi parted ways with Dhariwal to set up his own business," Patil added.