Ponty was shot seven times, Hardeep twice: Delhi Police

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police, on Wednesday, brought Ponty Chadha's Land Cruiser to the Chattarpur farmhouse and reconstructed the crime scene and the events of the fateful day. Cops videographed it and also tried to match the bullet marks to ascertain where the shooters were when the firing began.
Cops further claimed that the postmortem report by AIIMS backs their theory that the pair stood face to face when the shootout began and were shot from the front.

Police said last Saturday that Hardeep first shot at Ponty while he was still inside the car. The PSO of his associate, former chairman of the Uttarakhand Minorities Commission Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, shot Hardeep in self-defence.

Sources claimed that Ponty was shot seven times. He received three bullets to his abdomen, two to his chest and two more to his legs. Hardeep was shot twice — in the leg and chest. The source also said that the medico-legal case report at Fortis Hospital mentioned a dozen wounds on Hardeep’s body. The development comes a day after doctors – in a rare decision – decided to visit the crime spot. “We have had three different statements from eyewitnesses including PSO Sachin Tyagi and Namdhari. We are yet to receive the official statement of Ponty’s PSO Narender,” said a police source.

Police will now send the postmortem report to ballistic experts to ascertain the specifications of bullets and guns used and the distance at which the victims were shot. Sources claimed the final postmortem report ruled out use of country-made weapons though cartridges of the banned .30 bore may have been fired. They are hoping to get the official postmortem report by midnight. The ballistic report is expected in two weeks.

Meanwhile, probe revealed the two Chadha brothers were to meet the same evening to discuss division of property with lawyers. Police are trying to ascertain if Ponty’s men tried to take over the farmhouses at Kapashera and Chhattarpur to stop Hardeep from gaining an upper hand during the proposed negotiations that was reportedly supposed to be attended by religious leaders and politicians.

Police, however, categorically denied that a senior IAS officer was present at the 42 Mandi Village farmhouse when the shooting took place. They are also in touch with Namdhari . “We are waiting for the ballistic report to question him,” the officer said. The Punjab Police, though, chose to remain tightlipped and defended its six men reporting for duty with the Chadhas. “Of the six men posted as PSOs, three are on leave. The fourth was not present at the scene of crime,” the officer said.