A CURRY house boss has been given a last-ditch chance to hold onto its alcohol licence.

Taj Mahal manager Mahar Ullah had applied to Swindon Borough Council to get a licence to sell alcohol and host live entertainment transferred from his brother’s company into his name.

But the bid was made days after a Home Office raid found four illegal immigrants working in the Shaw Ridge restaurant.

In papers lodged with the licensing panel, Wiltshire Police cautioned councillors against granting the transfer of the premises licence. PC Michael Diffin, the force licensing officer, said: “It is believed that serious crime will continue to be committed at the premises.” Taj Mahal Restaurant (Swindon) Ltd had its licence revoked earlier this month subject to an appeal by the curry house owners.

Councillors were due to decide on the transfer bid on Monday morning. However, they were forced to adjourn the case to November 13 when Mr Ullah failed to appear before the panel meeting. Council officers twice tried to get hold of him on the phone yesterday without success.

Phil Wirth, Swindon Borough Council’s solicitor, advised councillors to adjourn the case: “If it’s heard in his absence it might be regarded as unfair.”

Although Mr Ullah was not the registered licensee when the Taj Mahal was raided by the Home Office on June 22, he was the designated premises supervisor and responsible for the day-to-day management of the restaurant.

Mr Wirth said: “He could be regarded as tainted by what happened, which resulted in the revocation of the licence.”

Coun Brian Mattock, chairman of the licensing panel, said: “It is in the interests of the applicant and the authority that we look to defer this application and for the licensing officer to give the applicant one last chance.”

The Taj Mahal lost its licence to sell alcohol, host entertainments and play music at a hearing on October 16.

Wiltshire Police had applied for the terms of the license to be reviewed after the Home Office raid caught four Bangladeshi men suspected of working in the restaurant illegally.

Two were found hiding in the roof and one tried running out of the door.

Councillors did not believe Mr Ullah’s claims that the four men were not working at the curry house, but were visiting staff and had been allowed to stay in rooms above the restaurant.

His solicitor, Sabbir Ahmed, said: “Mr Ullah is clear on this. They were not working there, not even helping out. It’s true that they had no right to be in the country, but there is no evidence to suggest they were working at all. They were all in casual clothes. If they’d been working in the kitchen they’d have to be in whites, if they were waiters they’d have been in uniform, not jeans and trainers.”

The company has until November 6 to appeal the decision to revoke the licence.