Bhalla released from prison

Ravi Bhalla, the Indian businessman jailed for the past six months for a crime he seemingly didn't commit, was released from prison June 30, eight days after a Prague Post cover story detailed the murky conditions behind his prosecution and subsequent conviction.

"They called me and said, 'Pack your things and go,' " Bhalla said of his release. "It just happened. I was so excited, I was not able to talk. My voice went off for awhile."

The Supreme Court in Brno found irregularities with the investigation and Bhalla's subsequent trial, freeing him from Ruzyně Prison and overturning the results of the original trial. The case will now start from scratch, and if prosecutors decide to move forward again, Bhalla will be retried in a Prague 1 District Court sometime later this year.

Bhalla was jailed in January and began serving a five-year sentence for tax evasion related to his bar and restaurant business. His conviction came despite a series of questionable surveillance tactics used by police and numerous missteps throughout the investigation including the loss of evidence that was nonetheless admitted in court. The outlandish tactics employed by police and prosecutors prompted speculation of corruption, racism and an incompetent judicial system, and raised serious questions about why Bhalla - an entrepreneur who moved to Prague in 1991 and had been running his bar and restaurant since 2001 - was so specifically targeted.

In December 2010, an appeals court ruled against Bhalla's appeal of his conviction in a closed session without the presence of Bhalla, his lawyer or even the prosecutor assigned to the case. That ruling came just days before a statute of limitations on the case was to expire, after the investigation, a series of police raids on Bhalla's home and businesses and court hearings had dragged on for some five years.

In an indication of how quickly the situation has changed since the publication of The Prague Post story, just nine days before Bhalla's release a Supreme Court spokeswoman, Dana Haisová, said of the timetable for resolving the case: "According to Judge [Vladimír] Veselý, the decision will be made in six to eight weeks. I say eight to make sure the decision will be made, because during the holidays, some judges may go on vacation."

But Bhalla said that "because of the article, they took the decision sooner, and they found clear illegalities in my case."

After more than two decades in the Czech Republic, Bhalla made it clear he had picked up at least one local custom as he found himself at a pay phone without change just outside the prison walls.

"I couldn't explain to the taxi driver to come to some bus stop," he said. "So I saw a hospoda, and I said maybe they will have a phone. So I went to the hospoda and asked them to call me a taxi, and said, 'Give me a beer.' I had two beers."

And what does a man have for his first meal after being freed from prison?

"I bought Marks & Spencer Indian food," Bhalla said.

After his release, Bhalla made his way home to greet his partner Alesia Ziljajeva and their recently turned one-year-old son Umang. Bhalla called ahead to announce his pending arrival.

"I didn't have the key, so I had to check they were home," he said, adding that both mother and baby were "very happy."

Up next for Bhalla are a couple days of relaxation.

"Everybody is on holiday," he said. "Then, I will talk to the lawyers."

Bhalla has briefly spoken with his mother in India.

"She told me to sleep two days, then call again," Bhalla said.

It remains clear that Bhalla is eager to fully clear his name.

"I am going to fight it here or at the European Union," he said.

The Prague Post sought and failed to receive comment from the Indian Embassy in Prague in the lead up to publishing the initial article on Bhalla's case. Since the publication of that article, it was announced that Indian Ambassador D.P. Srivastava will be transferred to Iran.

Read more: "Jailed Indian businessman likely innocent," The Prague Post, June 22, 2011. 

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com