Food safety department seized 55,000 gutkha pouches

INDORE: Around 55,000 of gutkha pouches worth Rs 1 lakh was seized in Indore on Wednesday by food safety department in a raid of four shops at different parts of the city. The gutkha pouches were sold at three times higher than the MRP.
Raids were conducted at Sindhi Colony, Juni Indore and Sarvate Bus stand. "Samples of Rajshri and Vimla gutkha have been collected during the raid," said food safety officer Manish Swami.
Swami said that the team reached Disha Traders in Sindhi Colony and collected 15 packets of Rajshri gutkha. One sample was collected from here. Thereafter, a team raided the godown of Kushaldas Khobani in Gali number 4 of Sindhi Colony and Jain Traders in Juni Indore and seized gutkha pouches.
Sale of gutkha is ban in the city so it is being sold in black and consumers has to pay at least three time of the printed price. Swami said the restricted material is smuggled into the city from adjoining states through different modes of transport. He said Kushaldas Khobani is a regular defaulter and gutkha was seized from his godown earlier also. The department will file a case against them and special court will decided the punishment.