With calls of 'boycott Khan Chacha' flooding the internet, massive outrage has built against south Delhi restaurant honcho Navneet Kalra who is reportedly accused of black marketing and hoarding oxygen concentrators in the national capital.
Kalra, the name behind eatery brands Townhall and Khan Chacha in upscale Khan Market, and restaurant-bar Nege Ju in Lodhi Colony, was selling the medical equipment via these three outlets, India Today reports. Over 600 oxygen concentrators have been seized from said locations after Delhi Police conducted raids. Kalra is reportedly absconding and his case has been handed over to Delhi's crime branch.
According to reports, he had been importing the equipment from China at rates as low as Rs 16,000 and selling them through his eateries in Delhi at hiked prices estimated to be around Rs 70,000.
At a time when the capital grapples with a deadly COVID-19 grip, with glaring gaps in the healthcare system that have prompted a shortage of emergency facilities like hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and medicine, Kalra is facing severe heat.
Boycott Khan Chacha Trends After 'Oxygen Racket' Busted In Delhi's Iconic Locations
Khan Market, the national capital's posh U-shaped market ranked among the most expensive commercial streets in the world, and Lodhi Colony, a high-end residential space, are counted among Delhi's most iconic locations. Kalra is famous in the city for being a page-3 social bigwig.
Soon as accusations against him emerged, the case was given a communal colour owing to the eatery's name. It must, however, be noted that Khan Chacha, originally founded by the Hasan family in the 1970s, is not under their ownership anymore. After a bitter partnership split between them and Kalra, the ownership went to the latter.
Netizens are leaving negative reviews and ratings for Kalra's eateries on app stores and social media, urging citizens not to feed into his businesses after his alleged extortionary practices.
Social media reactions: Spanning the range, from anger to support
"I am regular customer at khan Chacha for their rolls along with my family members. I vow never 2visit this place in my life I will boycott #KhanChacha," one user wrote. "My earnest request to all, henceforth please do not ever order food from any of the Khan Chacha restaurants in your city," another wrote.
Sanya Kapoor, a lawyer based in the city who recently lost her aunt and media personality Kanupriya to COVID-19, tells SheThePeople, "Apart from Kalra's incident being a punishable offence under the Indian Penal Code, it lacks morality and is a perfect example of inhumanity." She however adds, "I personally don’t feel boycotting the said restaurant would create any difference and the only thing that would create a slight impact is a deterrent against the offender either by way of imprisonment or a heavy fine."
A section of social media users is also raising questions over the supply-demand flow of health equipment in Delhi right now, debating whether Kalra's actions should amount to a crime when he was helping those in need of concentrators.
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