The Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DNH) police had last month booked independent MP Mohan Delkar’s two close aides – his legal advisor Indrajitsinh Parmar and deputy sarpanch of Dadra gram panchayat Kamlesh Desai in two separate cases. While both the men are in judicial custody at Silvassa sub-jail, Parmar had applied for bail in the Bombay High Court.

While leaving DNH on XXXXX (WHEN), Delkar had told his family that he was going to attend a court hearing of Parmar, booked under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act. Delkar allegedly died by suicide at a Mumbai hotel on February 22.

A press release issued by the DNH police on January 31 stated the police and the Excise department had carried out raids on Hotel Malhar, a restaurant-cum-beer bar at Bavisha Falia in Silvassa, owned by Parmar and found that liquor was illegally stored and sold illegally at the hotel.

After due enquiry and from documents seized from the premises, it came to the notice of the authorities, the press release said, huge stocks of liquor were being purchased which were “disproportionate to sales recorded”.

Police communique also stated Parmar had appointed as the manager of the hotel one Rahul Sahani, who has “seven cases of bootlegging in Gujarat”.

The press release stated, “Rahul Sahani was deliberately appointed manager of the hotel to carry out illegal liquor smuggling in name of running a hotel. Accordingly, PASA Act was applied on two persons, Indrajitsinh B Parmar and Rahul Sahani for detention at sub-jail Silvassa.”

Parmar and Sahani were arrested on January 30. Silvassa police said the two men, in the guise of running liquor business, were involved in bootlegging activities from DNH to Gujarat, a dry state.

A close aide of Parmar, who is looking after the legal formalities and did not wished to be named, said, “The case has been intentionally made out by the authorities on Parmar, who had already given his Hotel Malhar on rent to Sahani. We are fighting and have applied for bail in the Bombay High Court.”

The Superintendent of Police Hareshwar Swami, has told this paper said, “It is a matter of bootlegging. I would not want to say anything now, as the matter will take its course.”

In the second case, the local administration had registered a police complaint under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Kamlesh Desai, who was elected the deputy sarpanch from Dadra village gram panchayat on a JD(U) ticket. According to sources, there was an old dispute between Desai and a local Halpati community woman over a land-related issue. There was a heated exchange between them following which the woman had lodged complaint against Desai with the Silvassa police station on February 17.

Sources said Silvassa police acted on the complaint and reached his house on February 18 night. As Desai escaped from the house through a backdoor, local sources said police took his wife and son to the police station, where they were detained and later released.

Desai had surrendered himself at Silvassa police station and later he sent to police remand till February 22. He is currently in the judicial custody for 14 days.

Deputy Superintendent of police of DNH, N L Rohit said, “Desai had encroached on 5,200 square metre land of a tribal woman in Dadra. The land was allocated by the government to the father of the tribal woman a long time ago. So, on the basis of the complaint lodged by the woman, we have arrested Desai. The case is still under investigation.”