Controversial business tycoon Gurdeep Singh aka Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep were killed in a fierce exchange of fire allegedly between the estranged siblings and their associates on a farmhouse in South Delhi on Saturday, following a property dispute. In all, 13 bullets were pumped into 55-year-old Ponty Chadha, who succumbed to his injuries after having been taken to a nearby hospital. His brother, who sustained four bullet injuries, died on the spot. A manager of Ponty Chadha was injured in the cross-firing and has been admitted in a critical condition to a Gurgaon hospital.
According to the locals, the 12-acre farmhouse in the posh Chhattarpur area, where all the bloodletting happened, was the bone of contention and immediate cause. It is alleged that Hardeep, who earlier lived with his brother in another farmhouse in the same locality, occupied this property, much to the chagrin of Ponty Chadha. The dispute could not be resolved despite a series of meetings.
On Saturday, around 11-30 a.m. Ponty Chadha along with his men reached the farmhouse allegedly with intent to dispossess his brother of that property while he was away on some business to neighbouring Noida. The armed assailants forced their way in, after breaking open the lock of one of the three gates, earlier used by the Chadhas as the main entrance. “They beat up the workers there and drove most of them out of the farmhouse after snatching away their phones,” said a police source. The assailants locked up the rooms and kept some of the remaining occupants in confinement. Just then a close confidant alerted Hardeep.
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While the police are yet to completely reconstruct the sequence of events, it is suspected that armed with a .38 bore gun, Hardeep soon reached the farmhouse in his Mercedes and had barely entered the premises when he encountered Ponty Chadha and his men, and in the ensuing gun battle both brothers were killed. Who opened fire first is under investigation. The police suspect that nearly 30 rounds were fired from both sides.
Soon after information, senior officers rushed to the scene. A forensic team was summoned for collecting evidence, including bullet empties scattered around the farmhouse. It is learnt that an AK-47 assault rifle and its empties, besides two firearms, were seized from there. “We are recording the statements of witnesses,” said a police officer.
The Chadhas had wide-ranging business interests, from liquor, sugar mills, real estate, malls, multiplexes and movie production to power generation, in different parts of the country.
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On October 5, an incident of firing was reported from Ponty Chadha’s Moradabad residence in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, in February, the Income Tax department conducted searches on his premises suspecting tax evasion by his companies.
The 12-acre farmhouse, where all bloodletting happened, was the bone of contention
Thirteen bullets were pumped into 55-year-old Ponty Chadha