A fresh permission is being sought for alcohol to be sold at a convenience store in Reading town centre, where the previous owner had got into trouble with the police.
The convenience store in Market Place is located between the Greggs bakery and Romans estate agents.
An application has been submitted for the sale of alcohol from the store between 8am and 11pm each day.
This application has been submitted to Reading Borough Council’s licensing department.
A statutory consultation into the alcohol sales bid is currently live.
You can comment on it by emailing licensing@reading.gov.uk. The consultation ends on Thursday, January 15.
The application is being sought after the previous owner, Gurjeet Bajaj was accused of hiring an illegal worker, allegedly handling stolen jackets and selling duty-diverted tobacco by Thames Valley Police.
Mr Bajaj had the licence for alcohol sales at the store revoked at a licensing applications sub-committee meeting in June last year.
A report by police stated an ‘intoxicated’ man was serving behind the counter at an inspection last April.
Although this man had entered the UK legally, his VISA had been curtailed, removing his right to work.
On the allegations of handling stolen jackets, Mr Bajaj complied with police when a suspect with a Marks & Spencer jacket attempted to hide in the store last February.
When officers found a second jacket, Mr Bajaj confirmed he had purchased the jacket himself from Next.
The fresh licence is being sought by Afghan national Manmeet Singh Rajwansi under his company Market Convenience Store Ltd.
