Investigators are examining whether Sukhdev Singh Namdhari fired at Ponty Chadha and how far he was responsible for his murder. He has already been booked for murdering the businessman’s younger brother Hardeep.
“We are investigating each and every angle and Namdhari’s role is suspicious in whole the gun battle. Our investigation is still on,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Railways) S.B.S. Tyagi told IANS.
His Police Custody has also been extended  till December 5 after investigators sought his custody to recover the vehicles used on the day of the incident at south Delhi’s Chhattarpur farmhouse and to trace other five accused.
Namdhari disclosed that his associates Hardayal Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Jasbir Singh, Balkar Singh and Baaj Singh had fled, police said.
“The matter is under investigation and more co-accused including those who have altered and cleaned the pistol have to be arrested in the present case. The accused has assured the police that he would accompany them to make their arrest possible, therefore, he is remanded in police custody till Dec 5,” the court said.
The police remand application said: “On interrogation of the accused and examining the witnesses it had been found that on the behest of the accused, co-accused armed with fire arms and other deadly weapons forcibly entered and took possession of the farmhouse at Chhattarpur.”
Ponty and his younger brother were killed in a gun battle Nov 17 at Chhattarpur farmhouse No. 42 in south Delhi over the property’s possession.
An officer, who did not want to be named, said that Ponty was hit by bullets which came in from two different directions. While Hardeep was firing from one direction, the source of bullets fired from the other was still to be identified, he said.
We were working on the possibility that Namdhari may have fired at Ponty, he said.
“This theory might be wrong, but we have to investigate from all possible angles,” said the source.
Namdhari, who was sacked from the post of chairman of the Uttarakhand Minorities Commission after Chadha brothers’ killings, was arrested from his farmhouse in Uttarakhand on November 23.
Police Sunday booked him under section 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code for killing Hardeep.
He earlier told police that he opened fire in self-defence and was booked under charges of trespass and attempt to murder.
Police were still waiting for the ballistic report which would confirm the type of weapon and bullets used in the gun battle.