The mystery of Ponty Chadha’s missing Rs 700 cr
3 Dec 2012 7:17 AM IST
The latest piece of puzzle that Delhi’s crime branch is breaking its head over in Ponty Chadha-Hardeep Singh murder case is the missing Rs 700 crore. Apparently, Chadha had hidden his ill-gotten wealth with the help of Sukhdev Singh Namdhari (key eyewitness and suspect in the case) to avoid the alleged income tax raid in February.
A powerful bureaucrat in the finance ministry who had suffered a portfolio change after a change of guard in the ministry had allegedly leaked the information of income tax raid to Ponty Chadha which resulted in the raid becoming a damp squib.
The crime branch found out recently that soon after Chadha was shot dead, allegedly by his own brother, Namdhari had apparently made five phone calls. According to sources, the crime branch feels these calls could lead it to the missing money. It is alleged that Namdhari had made those ‘urgent’ calls in order to tell his co-conspirators to stash the money safely until things settle down.
According to a senior police officer, the crime branch has traced the call details: three calls were made to top politicians of Delhi, Uttarakhand and Punjab. The remaining two calls were made to top officials in Uttarakhand. ‘We have identified the persons with whom Namdhari had a conversation on 17 November, the day of the dual murder. We are questioning them about the conversation,’ he said.
Meanwhile, the four Delhi police personnel, including a sub-inspector, attached to the Mehrauli police station in south Delhi, who had visited Chhatarpur farmhouse before the shootout and allegedly found nothing, are also being interrogated afresh. Things have taken a different turn now that a new bullet has been found at the shootout site – on Saturday, CBI’s Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) team found an empty bullet shell, leading ballistic experts to re-assess the case.
Although the crime branch is upset over the carelessness of the senior cops who had missed the bullet in their earlier search, it is happy to have new clues to establish the role of Namdhari in the murder of the brothers.
It is believed that Ponty Chadha has trusted Namdhari with a lot of money – both in cash and in kind. The crime branch feels that this could be a perfect motive for the murder, say the sources. According to them, the crime branch feels that it has reached the final stages of the investigation. And, apparently, a lot would depend on Rs 700 crore that’s gone missing.
A powerful bureaucrat in the finance ministry who had suffered a portfolio change after a change of guard in the ministry had allegedly leaked the information of income tax raid to Ponty Chadha which resulted in the raid becoming a damp squib.
The crime branch found out recently that soon after Chadha was shot dead, allegedly by his own brother, Namdhari had apparently made five phone calls. According to sources, the crime branch feels these calls could lead it to the missing money. It is alleged that Namdhari had made those ‘urgent’ calls in order to tell his co-conspirators to stash the money safely until things settle down.
According to a senior police officer, the crime branch has traced the call details: three calls were made to top politicians of Delhi, Uttarakhand and Punjab. The remaining two calls were made to top officials in Uttarakhand. ‘We have identified the persons with whom Namdhari had a conversation on 17 November, the day of the dual murder. We are questioning them about the conversation,’ he said.
Meanwhile, the four Delhi police personnel, including a sub-inspector, attached to the Mehrauli police station in south Delhi, who had visited Chhatarpur farmhouse before the shootout and allegedly found nothing, are also being interrogated afresh. Things have taken a different turn now that a new bullet has been found at the shootout site – on Saturday, CBI’s Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) team found an empty bullet shell, leading ballistic experts to re-assess the case.
Although the crime branch is upset over the carelessness of the senior cops who had missed the bullet in their earlier search, it is happy to have new clues to establish the role of Namdhari in the murder of the brothers.
It is believed that Ponty Chadha has trusted Namdhari with a lot of money – both in cash and in kind. The crime branch feels that this could be a perfect motive for the murder, say the sources. According to them, the crime branch feels that it has reached the final stages of the investigation. And, apparently, a lot would depend on Rs 700 crore that’s gone missing.
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