No court relief for Kalra; LoC issued

New Delhi: A Delhi Court Monday refused to grant any stay on coercive action against businessman Navneet Kalra in connection with the seizure of oxygen concentrators from his restaurants 'Khan Chacha' by the Delhi Police.

Kalra, against whom the Delhi Police's Crime Branch has launched a manhunt, moved the Saket Court seeking anticipatory bail in the case, even as the Delhi Police got a Lookout Circular issued against him to prevent him from leaving the country. Special Judge Sumit Dass has directed the Investigating Officer (IO) to file the reply to Kalra's application by today (Tuesday).

During the course of proceedings, Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastva opposed the pre-arrest bail application.

The Public Prosecutor also asked the court, It is a case of the Crime Branch. Is this a suitable court for it?

The accused's counsel Advocate Vineet Malhotra told the court that his client is being hounded and sought pre-arrest bail. On Thursday, 419 oxygen concentrators were recovered from another restaurant owned by Kalra and a farmhouse in south Delhi. Four men were arrested during the raids. The oxygen concentrators had been imported from China by a private company.

Kalra has been absconding since the raids and his mobile phone has been switched off, according to police.

An official said they are suspecting that they started hoarding oxygen concentrators in October last year. These oxygen concentrators were imported from countries like China, Hong Kong. They used to purchase them at Rs 16,000 per concentrator from their contacts and further sold the life-saving equipment at their trumped-up rates. It is suspected that Kalra has left Delhi along with his family,sources added.