A bottleneck on the road towards effective implementation of the ban on gutkha that had so far remained under wraps — literally — has now been uncovered. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials say paan shop owners are now using female aides to sell the prohibited product.

Illustration / Amit Bandre.u00a0Hide and seek: When a customer approaches a vendor for gutkha, the latter collects the money and diverts the client towards the woman concealing the product