Mumbai police apprehend gutka transporter in kidnapping, assault case

The Mumbai police arrested a 41-year-old gutka transporter for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting a man, who informed the police about the banned consignment and helped in its seizure, an official said on Thursday.

Officials of the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) laid a trap in the eastern suburb of Vikhroli on Wednesday and apprehended Rajesh Raju Shettiyar alias Rajesh Wala, a resident of Sion in central Mumbai, an official said.

Shettiyar is one of the main transporters of gutka and paan masala in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and has more than 19 cases to his name in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Nashik, he said.

The accused was wanted in a case of kidnapping, assault and conspiracy, which was registered at Vikhroli police station on May 8, the official said.

The victim, Jitendra Sarkar, who was also a gutka transporter, had parted ways from Shettiyar over some issues, following which he had started supplying information to the police about vehicles transporting the banned substances, he said.

Shettiyar suffered major losses in the illegal business after Sarkar started supplying information to the police, he said.

The accused and two of his aides kidnapped Sarkar from the Eastern Express Highway in Vikhroli on May 7 and thrashed him with a steel rod and hockey stick, he said.

After beating the victim up, the accused took him to a cement godown at Sewree, where they again assaulted him and threatened to kill him if he helped the police.

The unit-5 of the crime branch had earlier arrested two accused in the case and Shettiyar was wanted, he said.

According to sources, Shettiyar had links with a former police officer, who is behind the bars.