The Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice against businessmen Rasiklal Dhariwal and Jagdish Prasad Joshi, owners of Manikchand Gutkha and Goa [Images] Gutkha, respectively, for their alleged links with the underworld.

The notice was issued recently after the Mumbai police handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation the non-bailable warrants issued by a Mumbai court against the two, official sources said. It said the duo were wanted in Mumbai for extortion and organised crime.

The police had sought the warrants under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. Dhariwal had filed an application for its cancellation, but his lawyers failed to turn up in the court.

The businessmen, understood to be in the United Arab Emirates, were earlier asked to appear before the police for an enquiry over their alleged links with underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim [Images].

They, however, failed to appear, and Dhariwal, in a statement, had said 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.