Delhi court remands ‘Khan Chacha’ owner Navneet Kalra to three days’ police custody

A Delhi Court on Monday remanded businessman Navneet Kalra to three days' police custody in relation to the oxygen concentrator hoarding case that he has been implicated in.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at the Saket District Court Archana Beniwal passed an order to this effect after Delhi Police moved the court seeking five days' custody of Kalra, Bar & Bench reported.

Appearing for Kalra, advocate Vineet Malhotra argued that custody of his client was not required as the police was already in possession of his phone and bills of sale of the oxygen concentrators.

Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava pointed out that the Additional Sessions Judge at Saket Court had earlier held that custodial interrogation of Kalra was required, and that the Delhi High Court had earlier denied him anticipatory bail.

"The whole society is looking at the investigating agency and the judiciary in this case," he said.

During the hearing, Inspector Gurmeet Singh told the court that the Delhi Police has information on 524 out of 748 concentrators procured by Kalra. He said that details regarding the system of procurement of the oxygen concentrators were yet to be unearthed, for which purpose Kalra's custody was required.

Kalra was arrested by the police on the evening of May 16 from his brother-in-law’s farmhouse in Gurugram.

The Delhi High Court had last week declined to grant any interim relief to Kalra.

A case was filed under Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, among other provision of law, against Kalra after the Delhi Police recovered oxygen concentrators from ‘Khan Chacha’ and other restaurants owned by him.

The police claimed that the imported concentrators were being sold in the black market amid the COVID-19 crisis.