Navneet Kalra's bail plea hearing adjourned to May 28 in oxygen concentrator case

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday adjourned to May 28 hearing on the bail application filed by businessman Navneet Kalra in connection with the oxygen concentrator black marketing case.

During a recent raid, 524 oxygen concentrators were recovered from Khan Chacha, Town Hall, and Nege & Ju restaurants owned by Kalra.

The restaurateur is in judicial custody till June 3.

Metropolitan Magistrate Swati Sharma deferred the hearing in the matter to May 28 at 12 pm after advocate Vishal Gohri, representing the accused, sought adjournment.

The court had adjourned hearing in the bail plea twice before on May 20 and 22.

On May 22, the district court dismissed the plea of Delhi Police seeking five more days of custodial interrogation of Kalra.

Earlier, a similar application was junked by a different judge on May 20 and Kalra was sent to 14-day judicial custody.

Prior to this, the restaurateur was remanded to three days in police custody following his arrest.

The businessman was nabbed from Gurugram on May 16 and arrested formally on the next day.

Police claimed the concentrators were imported from China and were being sold at an exorbitant price of Rs 50,000 to 70,000 a piece against its cost of Rs 16,000 to Rs 22,000.

The concentrators are crucial medical equipment used for COVID-19 patients and are in 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 Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also registered a money laundering case against him.

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