Ponty Chadha, Chairman and Managing Director of Wave Inc, was known to have had a strained relationship with his younger brother Hardeep over property issues. Sources said another brother Rajinder Singh Chadha, who looks after the liquor distribution business, was playing peacemaker and tried to resolve the dispute between the two brothers.
“The meeting to resolve the ownership of some property started peacefully but soon both brothers got into a heated argument following which Hardeep allegedly opened fire at his elder brother, who was disabled in both hands. Ponty’s guards returned fire and killed Hardeep. Ponty received 8 bullets and Hardeep body had six bullet marks. Both brothers used to live together in the chhatarpur farmhouse. They were rushed to Fortis hospital in Vasant Kunj but were declared brought dead. “The Forensic and Crime Investigation team collected fingerprints and ejected cartridge casings,” sources said.
At any given time, around 25 to 30 security guards are posted at the farmhouse. When the firing broke out, Ponty had two personal guards present, who opened fire after seeing Hardeep shooting at his brother.
Ponty’s is a story of a lower middle class boy from Moradabad making good. He started his career selling snacks in front of a country liquor shop in Moradabad with his father late Kulwant Singh Chadha. Later he managed to get a license to open his own wine shop. Ponty was known to be highly politically connected, especially in Uttar Pradesh, the state which played an important role in making his fortune. During the Mayawati regime between 2007-2012, Ponty’s business empire received major boost and he floated around 16 companies ranging from real estate to sugar mills. 4,500 acres of prime land was awarded to Wave Infratech that he owns for the Yamuna Expressway Project - a venture that is close to Mayawati’s heart and has been mired in controversies over land acquisition. The return of the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party to power in Lucknow did not seem to have affected Ponty’s fortune: Wave Inc is the sole distributor of liquor in UP. His business empire encompasses distilleries, multiplexes, sugar and paper mills, real estate, poultry and films. Chadha also had Bollywood aspirations; he produced the Sunny Deol starrer ‘Jo Bole So Nihaal,’ directed by N Chandra.
The low-profile Ponty, who throughout his life shunned the limelight, had hit the headlines in February this year when a team from the Criminal Investigation unit of the I-T department raided his premises and seized tax related documents from various locations.
- Sunday Standard