Ponty Chadha case: Namdhari under police scanner

Sacked chairman of Uttarakhand Minorities Commission Sukhdev Singh Namdhari has come under the scanner in Ponty Chadha case with police on Thursday claiming that his men could have aided the liquor baron in taking control of the disputed farmhouse hours before the killings.

Ponty and Hardeep, the brothers who had dispute over properties, were killed when both sides opened fire at each other last Saturday in a farmhouse owned by their family and Namdhari was present at the spot when the incident took place.

Prior to the gunbattle at 12:30 pm which claimed the lives of the Chadha brothers, Ponty's men had allegedly entered the farmhouse at around 11 am, fired in air and snatched mobiles of Hardeep's staff before throwing them out.

"Some people have given us statements that Namdhari's men were also part of the group (that trespassed into the Chhattarpur farmhouse). We are verifying that," Vivek Gogia, joint commissioner of police (South-West), told reporters.

Claiming that 'no clean chit' has been given to anyone, he said they will talk to Namdhari whenever there is a need. However, he did not give a direct reply when asked about reports that Namdhari was absconding.

"We would like to talk to him. He is not with us. Whenever there is a need, we will talk to him," he said while avoiding repeated questions about Namdhari's whereabouts.

Asked when was the last time investigators spoke to him, Gogia said police were in touch with him. Police also arrested Mathura Singh Mehra, a 30-year-old servant of Ponty's family, in connection with the Chattarpur farmhouse trespass case.

"He was working with Ponty for seven years. He was dealing in the upkeep of the house. He assisted Ponty's men. He was aware of the attempts at Chattarpur and Bjiwasan. He gave them the weapons," Gogia said.