Police piece together sequence of Ponty Chadha`s bloody shootout

New Delhi: Delhi Police on Monday finally managed to piece together the sequence of events leading to the deaths of liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep in a bloody shootout in their luxurious farmhouse in south Delhi Saturday.

A team of forensic and ballistic experts reached in the morning the sprawling 12 acre Rs 200 crore farmhouse in Chhattarpur area -- which is dotted with farmhouses of the rich and powerful. A news agency has tried to reconstruct the sequence of events that occurred on the fateful Saturday when the two brothers, locked in a property dispute, opened indiscriminate firing at each other. Some family members have, however, denied the police claims that the bloodbath was the result of a property dispute gone awry. According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by Ponty Chadha`s family friend Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, it was Hardeep Chadha who started firing from a pistol. The younger brother, in his 30s, first opened fire at his elder brother`s security manager Narendra, who is now undergoing treatment. Namdhari, who is Uttarakhand Minority Commission chairman, in his police complaint said he had come to meet Ponty Chadha at his farmhouse number 21 in Chhattarpur at 9:30 am and then left for the disputed farmhouse No 42, which is not far off, in their Land Cruiser car. When Narendra, who went along with Ponty and Namdhari in the car, started unlocking the gates of the disputed farmhouse, Hardeep Chadha with his personal security guards (PSO) also showed up and opened fire at him. But, according to police, after investigations they have found that Hardeep was actually attending a meeting in Noida, adjoining Delhi, when he was informed by his security guards that his elder brother had entered the disputed property. Hardeep then rushed to the farmhouse where heated argument erupted between the two brothers. Police investigations also showed that Narendra tried to intervene in the argument that led an angry Hardeep to open fire. But in the police complaint written by Namdhari, he mentioned that Hardeep was with his gunmen and personal security officer when they reached the disputed farmhouse -- over which the two brothers were fighting for ownership. According to Namdhari`s version, after injuring Narendra, Hardeep then came towards them and started firing indiscriminately at Ponty who was getting out of the car. Namdhari ducked behind the car to avoid being hit by the bullets. The FIR also stated that the gunner of Namdhari, Sachin Tyagi, who he claimed was provided by Uttarakhand government, opened fire in defence. As Hardeep`s gunners continued firing, the younger brother entered the farmhouse. But, the police are still probing whether only Hardeep opened fire or whether his PSOs were also involved in the shootout that resulted in the death of the two brothers. Police are also investigating who all were involved in the firing. Namdhari said that with the help of his driver, he rushed the profusely bleeding bullet-riddled Ponty to Fortis Hospital in Vasant Kunj where he was declared dead. After the bloodbath, when the police reached the spot at 12.20 pm, they found Hardeep`s body. The police also found several weapons, including AK-47, two pistols, bullets and cartridges. The first call was made to the police at 12.15 pm. Police also received two more calls -- the second one at 1.15 pm and then the final one at 2.30 pm. The caller just informed the police that a fight had broken out in the farmhouse. IANS