Ponty case: 3 days police custody for Namdhari's PSO

Sacked Uttarakhand minority panel chief SS Namdhari's PSO Sachin Tyagi, arrested for his alleged role in Ponty Chadha shootout case, was on Tuesday sent to the Delhi police custody for three days as the police told the court that he also had fired at the liquor baron's brother.

Sacked Uttarakhand minority panel chief SS Namdhari's PSO Sachin Tyagi, arrested for his alleged role in Ponty Chadha shootout case, was on Tuesday sent to the Delhi police custody for three days as the police told the court that he also had fired at the liquor baron's brother.

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Metropolitan magistrate Neha remanded Tyagi, who was arrested last night, in police custody to unearth the conspiracy and the sequence of the shootout.

"Sustained custodial interrogation is required to unearth the entire sequence and consequences of crime and also for the recovery of weapons used in the crime.

"In view of the submissions made in the application for recovery of other weapons, the accused is remanded to police custody till December 7," the court said.

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police submitted that Tyagi's custody is required as he himself disclosed his involvement in the conspiracy of trespass and that he along with Namdhari, who has been booked on charges of murdering Hardeep and is in police custody, had shot at Hardeep as per a plan hatched earlier among him, Namdhari and Ponty.

He added that Tyagi, a constable with Uttarakhand Police since 2005 and attached with Namdhari as his Personal Security Officer since January 2012, had allegedly destroyed the evidence which was part of the investigation.

The police told the court that Tyagi had failed to perform his duty as instead of informing the agency about the plot, he took part in the act and also fired at Hardeep.

Tyagi's counsel Ranbir Singh opposed the prosecution plea for his remand for three days saying his client had co-operated with the agency since the day of the shootout and that his custodial interrogation was not required.

Ponty and Hardeep, who had an ongoing property dispute, were killed in a shootout at their Chattarpur farmhouse on November 17 afternoon, after which the police has arrested altogether 10 people including Tyagi and Namdhari in various criminal cases linked to the incident.

All the accused have been charged with offences including criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder, dacoity, assault, destruction of evidence, trespass, illegal confinement and kidnapping.

The police, however, has booked Namdhari on charges of murder.