Ponty's aide Namdhari booked on murder charges

Sacked Uttarakhand minority panel chief Sukhdev Singh Namdhari has been booked on charges of murder in liquor baron Ponty Chadha's shootout case, the Delhi police told a court on Thursday, which extended the police custody of the politico by three more days.

Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav extended Namdhari's police custody till December 2, saying the Crime Branch has to unearth the conspiracy behind the November 17 shootout, in which Ponty and his brother Hardeep had lost their lives.

Namdhari was produced before the court after the expiry of his five-day police remand.

Seeking his custodial interrogation for five more days, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police told the court that they have added murder charges against him as the casings of two bullets fired at Hardeep from his pistol were missing from the spot.

They told the court that the bullet casings could have been taken away by the accused from the spot.

The police also told the court that the eyewitness statement recorded during investigations is also evident proof for his arrest and booking under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

The court sent six others -- arrested for allegedly trespassing into and looting the disputed Chhattarpur farm house of Chadha's family -- to 14 days of judicial custody.