Deputy Commissioner of Police (Prohibition) South N D Solanki was relieved of his charge of the prohibition department on October 3, though he was transferred to Bharuch as district superintendent of police in the end of August -- reportedly under pressure from the influential liqour mafia, the sugar lobby and bar associations -- though it is not something police or prohibition officials care to discuss.

Solanki, who had crossed swords with groups as diverse as cable operators and lawyers, has been succeeded by G M Pargi. But the DCP of the prohibition and excise department (headquarters) will be holding additional charge of the South region -- extending from Vadodara to Valsad -- which demands the full attention of more than one official.

While officials are reluctant to comment on Solanki's transfer, prohibition police personnel admit there has been a let-up in the intensity of the anti-liquor drive.

Surat District Bar Association president Ashit Mehta also agrees that the frequency of prohibition department raids has fallen considerably. ``Vehicle seizure has lessened, which is what we had been asking for'', he says, adding that there had been complaints against Solanki by cable operators and the sugar lobby as well as the bar association.

Solanki, as DCP prohibition, had launched a sustained drive to seize and confiscate vehicles used in transporting liquor, primarily from Daman and Maharashtra. While the bar association described the practice as misinterpretation of law, Solanki insisted that he was following a state government directive that gave him the powers to do so.

``The transfer is a government decision. With the Bharuch Lok Sabha elections are round the corner, there is a lot of work to be done here'', Solanki told Express Newsline by way of explanation for his transfer.

He stated that besides lawyers and cable operators, a number of others had openly expressed discontent over his functioning and had made representations before the government and the prohibition commissionerate for his transfer.