Excise department has claimed to have unearthed an excise duty theft of Rs 57 crore during a raid at an illegal ‘gutka’ manufacturing unit here. Two staffers of the gutka factory have been arrested and search was on to trace its owner, central excise officials said here today.
The factory, located at Industrial Area Sanver and run by Mahadev Shivshambu Fresheners Processors, was manufacturing gutka and pan masala with 42 machines “illegally” without a registration, they said, adding that a huge quantity of raw material was found during the raid last week.
According to initial investigation, the factory was indulged in central excise duty theft and inflicted a whopping loss of Rs 57 crore to the state exchequer.
Two factory workers — Anmol Mishra and Ramesh Kumar Dhamani, have been arrested under Central Excise Act 1944, they said.
