Cops find 5 types of used cartridges at farmhouse
Recovered arms, ammo sent for ballistic examination
While the mystery over ‘who killed whom during the gunfight between two groups led by liquor baron Gurdeep Singh Chadha alias Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep Chadha at their Chattarpur farmhouse, investigators have found five different types of used bullet cartridges.
The probe also revealed that Ponty received four bullets injuries while Hardeep was shot twice. At the spot of the gunfight, only two different kinds of spent cartridges were recovered - the.32 calibre cartridge for pistols, probably owned by Hardeep Chadha, and the .30 carbine cartridge.
An police official said the remaining three kinds of cartridges found on the farmhouse premises on 42 DLF Central Drive, were from the shots fired in the air by Ponty’s men who came there in the morning, taking posession of the property and bashing up Hardeep's employees.
The ballistic team is still verifying the remaining three kinds of spent bullets. There were several weapons carried by different people, including the personal security officers from two states, at the farmhouse on Saturday.
During the gunfight not more than 12 rounds were fired. Six bullets were fired at Ponty Chadha. Of them, two missed and four hit him in the abdomen and near the chest. Hardeep received two bullet injuries, while one bullet missed him.
Ponty’s secretary Narender got two bullet injuries in his leg and a third bullet missed him. Ponty and Narender were fired at from pistols; Hardeep was the victim of a carbine.
The ballistics team conducted a crime scene reconstruction on Monday to trace the weapons used in the gunfight. Police then made a list of weapons used at the crime scene. They have recovered Hardeep’s two firearms from the spot. Apart from that there were five carbines, three AK-47 rifles and one 9 mm pistol with police personnel from different states when the gunfigh took place.
All these weapons were being sent for ballistic examination to ascertain which of these were actually used in the shoot-out. This will also help investigators find out who were involved in the shooting – apart from Rashtriya Sikh Sangat’s Uttrakhand president and Uttarakhand minority commission chairman Sukhdev Singh Namdhari’s personal security officer Sachin Tyagi. Tyagi fired at Hardeep from the official firearm provided by Uttarakhand Police.
Namdhari, friend and business associate of Ponty, has registered an FIR claiming that Tyagi fired at Hardeep to save himself. However, police are still investigating the role of Namdhari and his presence during the gunbattle.
They called in Namdhari for questioning on Monday at Mehrauli police station. He has turned witness in the case. Investigators said Hardeep was provided six personal security officers, and Ponty had one from Punjab government who was not at the spot. Hardeep’s PSOs were there.
Police are also waiting to question the family members of the deceased. There has been no police complaint from the family so far.
