New Delhi: Seven persons, wanted for their alleged roles in the killings of liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep at a farm house here, on Thursday surrendered before a Delhi court which sent them to police custody for seven days.
The seven accused, who were charge-sheeted alongwith sacked Uttarakhand minorities panel chief S S Namdhari and 13 others for killings on November 17, last year, appeared before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Raj Kumar Tripathi who remanded them in police custody till March 14.
The men, allegedly belonging to Namdhari`s group, were Satnam Singh alias Satte, Balkar Singh, Baaj Singh, Pargat Singh, Kulbir Singh, Bakshish Singh and Hardayal Singh. The court had earlier issued non-bailable warrants against them and two others who are still absconding.
The court had on December 28, 2012 ordered initiation of proceedings under section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to declare them as absconders. They are wanted for their alleged roles in killing of Hardeep.
Seeking custody of the accused, the Delhi Police Crime Branch officials said the accused are to be taken at various places in Uttar Pradesh for recovery of weapons used in the commission of the crime.
The police also said they are also to be confronted with the call details and CCTV footage which have been seized during investigation in the case.
Ponty Chadha and Hardeep, who had an alleged property dispute, were killed in a shootout at a Chhattarpur farmhouse in south Delhi.
Besides Namdhari and his personal security officer Sachin Tyagi, the police on February 16 had chargesheeted 20 others including Ponty for the offences ranging from attempt to murder, causing grievous harm, dacoity, rioting with deadly weapons, house trespass, kidnapping and illegally confining occupants of the farm house and destruction of evidence.
The court today also dismissed the bail pleas of accused Rajpal Singh, Bhupender Singh, Uday Raj Singh, Satnam Singh, Mathura Singh and Anand Singh Bisht, who are currently lodged in Tihar Jail along with Namdhari, Tyagi and four others.
They have been remanded in judicial custody till March 19.
All the 22 accused have been charged with criminal conspiracy, common intention and those under the Arms Act.
The charge sheet had named Ponty Chadha as an accused as he had reached the place of incident in accordance with his "well-hatched conspiracy" with Namdhari and others to take over the possession of the disputed farm house which was under the custody of Hardeep.
The charge sheet had stated that Ponty and Namdhari were the "main conspirators in armed and forcible dispossession of occupants from farm house No. 42".
Out of 22 who have been charge sheeted in the shootout case, charges against Ponty have abated as he was killed in the shootout.
PTI
