Goa café run by Smriti Irani’s family issued show cause notice

A café and bar allegedly run by Union minister Smriti Irani’s family at Goa’s Bhouta Vaddo, Assagao has been reportedly issued a show cause notice over the issuance of illegal liquor licences.

Goa’s Excise Commissioner Narayan M Gad, who issued the show cause notice on Silly Souls Café and Bar, has slotted the hearing of the case at 11 am on July 29. Gad has also asked the excise licence holder and complainant advocate Aires Rodrigues to be present at the hearing.

The notice on the café-bar was slapped based on a written complaint by Rodrigues to the excise commissioner in which he alleged Irani’s family of acquiring illegal liquor licences with the help of excise officials and the local Assagao village panchayat.

Rodrigues, who made the complaint after receiving documents under the Right to Information Act (RTI) from the Excise Department on the matter, had asked for a thorough probe into the issue.

According to reports, the RTI documents showed that the family was issued liquor licences even though they didn’t have a restaurant licence in the first place.

According to the RTI documents, the liquor licence was reportedly issued by the Excise Department in the name of Anthony Dgama, whose Aadhaar cards says he is a resident of Mumbai. The licence was renewed on June 29 at the local Excise office at Mapusa in the name of Dgama even though he died on May 17 last year.

In his complaint to the Excise Commissioner, Rodrigues had sought the immediate suspension of the said licence and an investigation into the fraud.