New Delhi:
The Delhi Police has turned the focus of its investigation into the shootout that killed liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep to the witness and complainant in the case - former Uttarakhand Minorities Commission chairman Sukhdev Singh Namdhari.
Mr Chadha was accompanied by Mr Namdhari when he was allegedly shot by Hardeep at the Chattarpur farmhouse in south Delhi on November 17. Hardeep was shot by Mr Namdhari's personal security officer Sachin Tyagi. Mr Namdhari said it was an act of self-defence.
Police sources claimed Mr Namdhari was in Delhi on the day of the shootout to help Mr Chadha evict Hardeep from the farmhouses the two brothers were fighting over.
Mr Namdhari has taken permission from the police and stepped out of Delhi. He was yesterday suspected to have gone into hiding when his phone number was briefly found to be switched off. But police officials said they had access to him.
While Mr Namdhari is being questioned on his role, investigators are also looking at the possibility of more people being involved in the shootout.
A police team visited the Chattarpur farmhouse yesterday and reconstructed the scene of crime. Six people have been arrested so far, including two of Mr Chadha's personal security officers and two employees.
Mr Namdhari was removed as Uttarakhand Minorities Commission chairman on Tuesday. State Minority Welfare Secretary MH Khan said he was found to have 14 criminal cases against him.
Mr Chadha's business empire is estimated to be worth Rs 6,000 crore. He and brothers Hardeep and Rajinder were jointly managing Wave Inc, which has diverse interests in fields ranging from distilleries, multiplexes and sugar to paper mills.