Monday, January 24 2005 16:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice against businessmen Rasiklal Dhariwal and Jagidish Prasad Joshi, owners of Manikchand Gutkha and Goa Gutkha respectively, for their alleged links with the underworld.

The Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued recently after the Mumbai police handed over the non-bailable warrants against the two by a Mumbai court to CBI, official sources said.

The offences listed against the two in the Red Corner Notice said that the duo were wanted in Mumbai for extortion and organised crime.

The warrants had been sought under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) following which Dhariwal filed an application for its cancellation but his lawyers failed to turn up in the court.

The two businessmen, understood to be in UAE, were earlier asked to appear before police for an enquiry over their alleged links with underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

They, however, failed to appear and Dhariwal, in a statement, had said that he was willing to be questioned through video conferencing.

The police alleged that the two approached Dawood for a settlement and also helped him set up gutkha business in Pakistan.