The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office has dropped price-gouging charges against the operators of Battlefield Inn.

Devenora V. Patel, 56, and Hemel Ramesh Surati, 26, were accused of charging too much for rooms during a state of emergency declared in August because of Hurricane Isaac.

“Further investigation did not present enough evidence for us to move forward with the case,” said Jan Schaefer, public information officer for Attorney General Jim Hood.

Two similar cases remain active, she said.

Patel is Surati’s father-in-law. A statement issued by Patel in response to a request for comment said the two were arrested Aug. 30 after lead investigator Lee McDivitt was charged $69.99 for a one-night stay at the hotel.

“Documents produced by the hotel showed no significant difference in pricing for guest rooms during the time period in question and room rates that were in line with all locally advertised comparable rooms,” read part of the statement.

Occupancy at the 117-room hotel has dropped to “single digits” due to publicity generated by the case, Patel said.

Average room rates at Battlefield are advertised between $40 and $50 a night, depending on occupancy and bed type, according to the hotel’s website.

The arrests came from tips from citizens and an undercover investigation, Hood said in a statement a day after the arrests.

“From the beginning of this unfortunate situation, we maintained our complete innocence and that our pricing remained the same before, during and after the declared state of emergency,” Surati said in the statement. Unity Hospitality Inc. owns the hotel, located on Interstate 20 Frontage Road. Patel’s son, Nehal, and daughter, Mital, are listed as principals, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office Business Services Division.

A state of emergency in effect at the time put merchants under the state’s price-gouging laws, which state that 36 Mississippi counties along or south of Interstate 20 may not increase their average profit margin on goods and services after an emergency is declared. Violators of the law face between one and five years in jail per count.

In the other Isaac-related gouging cases, Kuldip Singh, 51, of Natchez, a Roxie truck stop owner, pleaded guilty and was fined $5,000 plus $166.75 in court costs and assessments, Schaefer said. Rajinder Singh, 50, a Madison gas station owner, awaits trial in Hinds County Justice Court, Schaefer said. Both men were arrested Aug. 29.

Hood’s office had reported 200 price-gouging reports related to Hurricane Isaac, with 160 on Aug. 28 when the category 1 storm made landfall in south Louisiana. In the days that followed, Vicksburg hotels were booked by up to 6,000 evacuees from south Louisiana and Mississippi, plus Vicksburg and Warren County residents without electricity.