A Delhi court dismissed the plea of Delhi Police seeking five days custodial interrogation of businessman Navneet Kalra in connection with allegedly hoarding and black marketing life-saving oxygen concentrators.
The Delhi Police told the court that Kalra’s custodial interrogation is required to confront him with data of mobile phone, money trail and bank account details, reported news agency ANI.
However, advocate Vineet Malhotra, representing Kalra, opposed the remand application of the police on the grounds that he is fully cooperating in the investigation, according to the news agency.
It came two days after the court had rejected the Delhi Police’s plea seeking five more days of custodial interrogation and called it "flawed". Kalra, who was produced before the court on expiry of his three days of police custody, was sent to 14 days of judicial custody. The order was passed by Metropolitan Magistrate Akanksha Garg of Saket court.
While rejecting the plea, the judge had said that police's contention to secure Kalra's custody on the grounds that the mirror images of his recovered mobile phones are yet to be created, or the data from the laptop is yet to be segregated is flawed at the outset.
During a recent raid, 524 oxygen concentrators were recovered from Khan Chacha, Town Hall, and Nege & Ju restaurants owned by Kalra. The concentrators are a crucial medical equipment used for COVID-19 patients and are on high demand amid the second wave of the pandemic.
On May 5, a case was registered against Kalra under Section 420 (cheating), 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, Essential Commodities Act and Epidemic Diseases Act.
The absconding businessman was nabbed from Gurugram on May 16 night and formally arrested the next day.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also registered a money laundering case against him.
(With inputs from PTI)