Puri: Baselisahi police in Puri seized gutkha worth over Rs 1.5 lakh and arrested a shopkeeper for allegedly selling the banned tobacco products illegally.
The shop keeper has been identified as Ramchandra Malu, a resident of Jagannath Nagar in Narendra Kona.
As per reports, despite the ban on gutkha and other tobacco products in Odisha, these items continue to be sold illegally in several parts of the state, posing significant health risks, including cancer, to the public. Baselisahi police also carried out raids on several retail and wholesale gutkha outlets in Puri city as part of ongoing drive against the unlawful trade, seizing a large quantity of gutkha. The drive, which continued for two days, targeted areas like Kumbharapada and Baseli Sahi. A large quantity of gutkha was seized during the crackdown.
