Man who provided hockey sticks to UP musclemen arrested

Police have arrested another man who had worked with liquor baron Ponty Chadha for the past seven years and helped the trespassers to take over the Chattarpur farmhouse on Saturday morning.

Police have arrested another man who had worked with liquor baron Ponty Chadha for the past seven years and helped the trespassers to take over the Chattarpur farmhouse on Saturday morning. The trespassing led to a shootout in which both Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep Singh were killed.

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This is the seventh arrest in the case. According to police, the arrested man, Mathura Singh Mehra, 30, was instrumental in providing the weapons and hockey sticks to musclemen. “We have arrested one more in the trespassing case. He was associated with Ponty for the past seven years and was living in nearby Sultanpur village,” Vivek Gogia, joint commissioner of police, (southwest range) said.

Mehra, a native of Nainital in Uttarkhand, was working as a caretaker and assisted the trespassers when they had gone to farmhouse number 42 at 11 am on Saturday, police said. “He was aware Ponty’s men were going to take over both Chattarpur and Bijwasan property,” Gogia added. Teams have been sent to Uttarakhand to nab Mehra’s accomplices.

Gogia confirmed Hardeep suffered two bullet wounds and Ponty took seven bullets but quicky added he could not say how many bullets were fired. “Wait for the forensic report,” he said.

The police said the search for empty shells was still on. “The farmhouse is large and our men are still searching. The ballistic report will confirm who fired the bullet. It will be matched with statements of those who were present at the time of shootout,” a senior police officer said.

Bhupender Singh, protocol manager of Ponty, who was leading the trespassers, Uday Raj Singh, PSO of Ponty Chadha, Rajpal, PSO of Chadha’s daughter and Anand Singh Bisht, his driver, have already been arrested.

Meanwhile, a local court extended the police custody of two persons who were arrested in connection with a similar scuffle at Bijwasan till November 28.