File photo of Mickky Pacheco, who has been missing for three weeks.
The hunt for the wanted former minister of Goa, Francisco Mickky Pacheco, who has been convicted in an assault case, has reached the home of Defence Minister Mahohar Parrikar, who earlier was the chief minister Goa.
A court in Margao has issued a warrant to search Mr Parrikar's 10, Akbar Road residence in Delhi after an activist moved court, claiming Mr Pacheco was hiding in the vicinity.
Mr Pacheco has been missing for three weeks after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction in the case following which he resigned as the rural development minister in Goa government.
"The order does not mention name of Mr Parrikar but the address is that of his," news agency Press Trust of India quoted petitioner Aires Rodrigues as saying.
Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar said they will challenge the court order. The opinion of the Advocate General has been sought on this issue, PTI reported.
The president of the Goa Vikas Party -- an ally of the ruling BJP -- Mr Pacheco several other cases against him, the charges include extortion, assault, bigamy and money laundering.
In 2011, he had to resign from the post of the tourism minister after his name surfaced in connection with the suicide a woman called Nadia with whom he allegedly had a relationship. That time too, he had vanished for weeks.
In the assault case, he was sentenced to six months in prison for slapping a junior engineer in the state's electrical department in 2006. The engineer, Kapil Natekar, had apparently failed to answer a phone call by Mr Pacheco's personal assistant.
Mr Pacheco said he has been denied justice in the case.