Gutkha baron JM Joshi gets 10-year jail term for Dawood links

The CBI court on Monday held Joshi, Farukh Mansuri (55) and Jamiruddin Ansari (54) guilty of having links with the organised crime syndicate headed by Dawood. Special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat examined 42 witnesses to prove the case against the accused persons

Mumbai: A special CBI court on Monday sentenced gutkha baron Jagdish M Joshi (67), the promoter of the gutkha brand called Goa, and two others to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of ₹15 lakh each for helping fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and his brother-in-law Abdul Antulay set up a gutkha production plant in Karachi, Pakistan.

Joshi, while seeking discharge from the court, had claimed that it was Dhariwal who had business dealings and a nexus with Dawood. He had claimed that he and Dhariwal were business rivals. Joshi’s lawyer contended that he also had to let go of the intellectual property rights of his gutkha and pan masala formula. (HT Photo)

The CBI court on Monday held Joshi, Farukh Mansuri (55) and Jamiruddin Ansari (54) guilty of having links with the organised crime syndicate headed by Dawood. Special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat examined 42 witnesses to prove the case against the accused persons.

The CBI had booked nine accused in the case, including Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal – the promoter of the Manikchand brand of gutkha – and had shown Dawood, Antulay and Salim Shaikh as wanted accused in the case. During the trial, Dhariwal died and thus the case against him was abated. Another accused, Rajesh Panchariya, was discharged.

As per the prosecution case, there was a monetary dispute between Joshi and his former partner, Rasiklal Dhariwal, and the two had sought the help of Dawood to resolve the dispute. In return for settling the dispute, Dawood had sought their assistance to set up a gutkha-manufacturing unit in Karachi in 2002.

The case was initially registered by the Mumbai police in 2004 on the complaint of one of the partners of the company that exported gutkha-packing and pouch-filling machines to Dubai, which were later sent to Karachi and were received by associates of Dawood’s brother Anees Ibrahim. The complainant had claimed that he had received threat calls.

The Mumbai police had arrested Jamiruddin in connection with the case for possession of an illegal gun in Mumbai. During interrogation, Jamiruddin revealed that Joshi and Dhariwal had helped Dawood set up a gutka-manufacturing unit in Sindh province, and that Dhariwal and Joshi’s financial dispute had been solved by Dawood, in return for which they helped him set up a gutka-manufacturing unit in Karachi. It was around 2003-04 that the factory was set up.

Joshi, while seeking discharge from the court, had claimed that it was Dhariwal who had business dealings and a nexus with Dawood. He had claimed that he and Dhariwal were business rivals. Joshi’s lawyer contended that he also had to let go of the intellectual property rights of his gutkha and pan masala formula. He further contended that Joshi was entitled to approximately ₹259 crore from Dhariwal but received only ₹11 crore by way of full and final settlement.