NCB arrests Mumbai’s celeb ‘Muchhad Paanwala’ in drugs case

Over the years, the outlet became a rage among the people, attracting top film stars, businessmen, politicians, and other celebs who thronged there for his lip-smacking post-meal munchies.

Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested one of the owners of Mumbai’s famed ‘Muchhad Paanwala’ early on Tuesday morning in connection with the investigations into the drug mafia-celebrities nexus, a top official said.

Confirming the development NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede said the current owner of the shop, Ramkumar J. Tiwari has been charged under NDPS Act Sec 8, read with Sec 20(b)(ii), pertaining to manufacture, possession, buying-selling, transporting, inter-state import-export of contraband.

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The son of one of the four siblings and co-owners Jayshankar Tiwari, Ramkumar J. Tiwari was summoned to the NCB on Monday and subject to a long grilling session before he was arrested.

The developments came on the heels of revelations alleging ‘Muchhad Paanwala’ as a customer for narcotics during the interrogation of an arrested British national Karan Sajnani in a drugs case.

Sajnani, residing in the country since over a year, was nabbed along with Rahila Furniturewala, a former manager of a Bollywood actress and her sister last week.

Ranked among the top paan vendors in Mumbai, ‘Muchhad Paanwala’ – named after its founder Panditshree Shyamacharan Tiwari of Tiwaripur, Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh – is currently run by his four sons, including Ramkumar Tiwari.

The landmark shop at Kemps Corner, near Malabar Hill, running for past nearly four decades, is known by the ear-to-ear bushy handlebar moustaches of the founder, his sons and even grandsons.

Over the years, the outlet became a rage among the people, attracting top film stars, businessmen, politicians, and other celebs who thronged there for his lip-smacking post-meal munchies.

In fact, in 2016, it became the first paanwala outlet to host its own website to take online orders from his discerning customers on its huge variety of mouth-melting preparations in Kolkata, Banarasi or Maggai paans, or several types of paan-masalas, whipped up with specially-sourced ingredients.