India, June 10 -- In a brazen attack on government officials, suspected gutkha smugglers allegedly attempted to run over a woman Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officer with an SUV and escaped with a truck loaded with banned gutkha and pan masala during a late-night enforcement operation near Waluj in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday at Rahimpur village, where an FDA team had launched a crackdown following a tip-off about the transportation of prohibited tobacco products.

The team, led by Assistant Commissioner Vivek Patil and comprising Food Safety Officers Farid Siddiqui and Pragya Surse, along with Sample Assistant Amol Kamble, intercepted a suspicious truck bearing registrati...