Ponty shootout: Arguments on charges against 22 commence

NEW DELHI: Arguments on charges against sacked Uttarakhand minorities panel chief SS Namdhari and 21 others, accused in connection with the murder of liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep, have commenced before a Delhi court.

Delhi Police Crime Branch begun its arguments before Additional Sessions Judge Vimal Kumar Yadav after it had supplied the accused with deficient documents filed along with the charge-sheet in the case.

During the course of arguments, the prosecution informed the court that the two brothers were not in talking terms as there was property dispute between them, which was not resolved before the incident.

"The dispute was not resolved on November 16, 2012 night, so the planning was to take away the property by any means, in which the two brothers were killed," the prosecution said.

The prosecution mentioned the sequence of events about the incident, saying Ponty and Namdhari had conspired to take over the farmhouse from the possession of Hardeep.

It said Hardeep had arrived at the scene and when Ponty's men were opening the gate of the disputed property, Hardeep fired at him and also at Ponty, and in return Namdhari and his PSO Sachin Tyagi shot him.

It further argued that the accused arrested in the case are Ponty and Hardeep's men, which is established from the CCTV footage produced before the court.

The arguments which remained inconclusive, will continue on September 4.

Ponty and Hardeep, who allegedly had a property dispute, were killed in a shootout at a Chhattarpur farmhouse on November 17 last year.