Ponty Chadha, brother Hardeep killed in family feud

Liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep Singh Chadha were killed in firing at a farmhouse in South Delhi’s Chhatarpur.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Controversial liquor baron and real estate businessman Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep Singh Chadha alias Monty were killed in firing at the former’s farmhouse in South Delhi’s Chhatarpur on Saturday. 55-year-old Ponty and his brother Hardeep, with whom he had a strained relationship due to property dispute, were shot at in their chests during the meeting at the former`s farmhouse in Chhattarpur. One of the guards also suffered injuries in the incident. Both the brothers were not on good terms and there were disagreement between them over land ownership. The duo were discussing a land dispute at the farmhouse when at around 1.00 pm tempers flared and according to police, Hardeep opened fire at Ponty. The meeting started on a peaceful note but soon turned ugly, following which Hardeep allegedly opened fire at his brother, sources said. This enraged the guards of Ponty who returned the fire in which Hardeep was killed, they said. Both the groups opened fire at each other. After Hardeep opened fire, Ponty and guards from both sides also opened fire, the sources added. Around 30-40 rounds were fired and police later recovered two pistols and empty cartridges from the scene. The three Chadha brothers -- Ponty, Hardeep and Rajinder -- were jointly managing the Rs 6,000-crore Wave Inc, formerly Chadha Group, which has diverse business interests in fields ranging from distilleries, multiplexes, sugar to paper mills, real estate, poultry and films. According to police, the shootout took place on the lawn of the sprawling farmhouse at 42, Central Lane, DLF, Chattarpur farms, Mali village in Mehrauli on the southern edges of the capital. "Gurpreet Singh Chadha alias Ponty Chadha and Hardeep Chadha were brought dead to Fortis Hospital in Delhi`s Vasant Kunj and later both the bodies were taken to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for post mortem examination," a police official said. It may be remembered that on October 5 earlier this year, gun shots were also reported from Chadha`s house in Uttar Pradesh`s Moradabad district. Ponty Chadha`s real name was Gurpreet Chadha. He had the sole distribution rights for liquor in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He also had business interests in real estate, sugar mills and film production. Ponty Chadha had a meteoric rise as a businessman and this triggered a lot of speculation about the real source of his income and his political affiliations. Ponty Chadha wealth was estimated at over Rs 50,000 crores. He, along with his brothers, ran the Chadha Group, popularly known as the Wave brand. The group operated a popular chain of multiplexes under the Wave brand. Earlier this year, Income Tax officials had raided the Centrestage Mall in Noida, which was owned by Ponty Chadha, over alleged tax evasion. Chadha was initially close to the Samajwadi Party but later affiliated himself with Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party.