Bail denied to 'mattress king'

'Magnetic mattress king' Vasant Pandit, who allegedly duped his distributors of magnetic beds to the tune of crores of rupees, was on Thursday denied bail by a New Delhi court, which remanded him to 14-day judicial custody.

Metropolitan Magistrate Dig Vinay Singh rejected the bail plea of Pandit, arrested on March 22 by Delhi police from Nariman Point in Mumbai, saying no ground for bail was made out at this stage as the probe was yet to be completed.

Pandit's counsel claimed that the case is about civil transactions and not criminal and the accused could not supply the articles since they were held by the Customs department and not released for which appropriate remedies were being pursued by him.

But the investigating office told the court that Pandit cheated distributors to the tune of Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10 billion).

Though Pandit's cousel told the court that the accused was ready to deposit Rs 550,000 in the court, the court said the actual amount in the case at this stage cannot be established as it is still under investigation.

Pandit was brought to Delhi on March 24 by the Economic Offences wing of the Delhi Police which said that their action relates to an FIR filed at the Sarojini Nagar Police station.

Pandit allegedly figures in 19 more FIRs filed across the country. The scheme, which he began involved sale of imported 'magnetic mattresses' branded 'Japan Life Total Sleeping System'.