Industrialist and chairperson of the Manikchand Group Rasiklal Dhariwal died on Tuesday evening at a Pune hospital, PTI reported. He was 78.

Dhariwal was suffering from parotid gland cancer, the Hindustan Times reported. He was admitted to Pune’s Ruby Hall Clinic, and was in the hospital since September 4. “Dhariwal died of multi-organ failure. He was on ventilator support for 15 days,” Sanjay Pathare, medical director, Ruby Hall Clinic, told the newspaper.

The industrialist is survived by his wife Shobha and five children.

Popularly known as the “gutkha baron”, Dhariwal began his career with the beedi, or rolled cigarette, factory he inherited from his father. He later began manufacturing gutkha, or chewing tobacco, and became one of the biggest producers of the product in India.