Ponty Chadha, brother shot by a third group?

NEW DELHI: Were liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep shot by a third party? Preliminary postmortem findings, while putting a question mark on the police theory that the two were killed in a shootout following a heated argument, have also pointed to this possibility.

The forensic examination conducted by AIIMS doctors has revealed that the number of bullet wounds suffered by Hardeep was found to be roughly the same as that of Ponty — both being more than a dozen. But while four bullets were lodged in Ponty's body, there were none in Hardeep's.

"This is possible only under two circumstances. One, if Ponty was shot from a distance and Hardeep from close range. And two, if the firearm used to kill Ponty was a low-penetrating, locally-made weapon," said a source at AIIMS.

Senior cops said no such local weapon had been found thus far. "Apart from an AK-47, we have recovered only two weapons. Both are licenced pistols," said Vivek Gogia, joint CP (southwestern range).

Sources said if Ponty was indeed shot from a distance and Hardeep from close range, it is highly unlikely that the two groups had fired at each other. "A more plausible explanation is that they were shot by another group. But these are just preliminary findings," the source said.

Ponty was stockier than Hardeep but AIIMS sources said body fat was not a major indicator as to whether or not a bullet would pierce through.

The four bullets recovered from Ponty Chada's body - of which three were stuck to the muscles on the back - have been sent to Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) for ballistic examination to decide which weapon was used to fire the bullet.

"If it is found that the bullets were fired from a weapon that did not belong to Hardeep, then the theory of third-party involvement will gain ground," said a source in AIIMS.

Hospital authorities and the police remained tightlipped on the findings, refusing to even ascertain if both Ponty and Hardeep were shot from the front. Many legal experts have questioned AIIMS's decision to release Ponty's body initially without recovering the bullets lodged inside.

Sources said that postmortem examination of Ponty started at 1pm during which x-ray was also conducted, which clearly showed the bullets lodged inside.

"They took four hours to complete the postmortem and still did not extract those bullets allegedly because it would have left the body disfigured. That's ridiculous. How did they manage to recover the bullets later without disfiguring the body?" questioned an expert. The second postmortem was conducted on the insistence of senior police officers and also Supreme Court lawyer K T S Tulsi, said sources. Tulsi is believed to have convinced the victim's family that recovery of bullets was important to find out the killers.

On Monday, AIIMS forensic sciences department held a meeting to discuss the oversight but no official came on record to confirm the reason or action taken in that regard.

Delhi Police, though, stuck to its theory. "Our FSL team has visited the 42, Mandi village farmhouse and we are collecting forensic evidence that will bolster our case," claimed an officer investigating the case. The fact that the team had to visit the spot twice within four hours shows that the investigation is far from over.

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Facebook post on bandh: 9 held for vandalizing clinic in Palghar

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Police today arrested nine people from Palghar for vandalizing a clinic, after the niece of the clinic owner posted a comment on Facebook questioning the shutdown in the wake of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's death.

Two girls — Shaheen Dhada and Renu — were arrested over their post opposing the Mumbai shutdown but were granted bail after they furnished personal bonds, police said.

"So far, we have arrested nine persons in connection with ransacking the clinic of Abdul Dhada. We are looking for some more people," SP Thane rural Ravindra Sengaokar said.

Shaheen, who was arrested after she posted comments on the social networking site opposing the shutdown on Sunday when 86-year-old Thackeray was cremated, said police was polite to her and she had no complaints against any police personnel. "I have apologized for the post," she said, adding she had no comments to offer on whether she had done anything wrong.

She allegedly said that one should not observe bandh for Thackeray's funeral. "We should remember Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev," the post said.

Her friend Renu, who was arrested for 'liking' the post, felt that she was "wrongfully" arrested.

According to their advocate Sudhir Gupta, both were arrested under section 505(2)(statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) following a police complaint lodged by a local Sena leader.

Police sources said a FIR has been registered against more than 50 people including some Shiv Sainiks who have been named in the report following the attack.

Also, a probe has been ordered into whether the contents of the Facebook post constituted an offence and even if the offence was registered why were the arrests made, Maharashtra Police's IG (law and order) Deven Bharti said.

Abdul Dhada, whose clinic was ransacked, said, "For our security they have posted the police because what has gone wrong should not happen again...we don't have any complaint against anybody and treatment we received from the police station is absolutely fine".
TOI had reported in its edition dated November 19 that Shiv Sainiks, angered by Shaheen Dhada's post on a social networking site, vandalized a clinic in Palghar owned by her uncle.

On Sunday, Shaheen Dhada (21) posted a comment on her Facebook page questioning the shutdown (following Bal Thackeray's death). Local Shiv Sainiks in Palghar objected and asked her to apologize, which she allegedly refused to initially. Despite her later posting of an apology, a big mob of activists vandalized the Dhada orthopaedic hospital belonging to her uncle Dr Abdul Dhada and manhandled staff and patients. Under Sainiks' pressure, police detained Shaheen and her friend Rini Srinivasan (21, who had 'liked' Shaheen's comment on FB) late at night and arrested them on Monday morning for "hurting religious sentiments." The charge was later reduced and the two girls granted bail on surety of Rs 15,000 each.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Married for 70 years, couple die minutes apart

CHENNAI: They loved each other and lived together for long. And when they died, it was also almost together. Bagyalakshmi, 82, collapsed and died within minutes of hearing of the death of her husband Palayam, 91. The couple had married nearly seven decades ago when Bagyalakshmi was 12 and Palayam 21.

Palayam, who lived in Punnapakkam, a village near Poondi in Tiruvallur district, about 55km from Chennai, died suddenly on Sunday morning. Minutes later, when the news was passed on to Bagyalakshmi, who was in her son's house in a neighbouring village, she collapsed. She was taken to a private hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. Police said no case was registered as they were natural deaths.

Last week, sources said, the couple had celebrated Diwali at their son's house in Chinna Eakadu. While Bagyalakshmi stayed back, Palayam returned to their house in Punnapakkam to take care of the cattle and the farm.

On Monday, Bagyalakshmi's body was taken to Puunapkkam and kept beside her husband's. The villagers paid their homage. Later, the two were buried close to each other on their own land as per Palayam's wish.

Doctors are not able to explain such deaths of couples, but say when there is an extremely strong bond between couples for long years, each one finds it difficult to be without the other. Geriatrician Dr V S Natrajan said he had himself been witness to such instances. "There is rush of adrenaline when the elderly hear such news. The shock is too much for their aged hearts to bear and they die," he said.

In most cases, death may not occur the same day, but weeks or months later. "Even a perfectly healthy partner can become seriously ill after the death of his/her spouse. It's probably because health is not just about physical being.

It is also about mental and social wellbeing. Many couples may be too old to help each other with their daily chores, they may not be able to hear or see each other, yet they draw strength from their mere presence," said Natarajan.

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Little girl abused by grandfather; mother fights against parents in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Once a playful child, seven-year-old Shrija is now quiet. She talks only to her mother Smitha, 32, and counsellors. The child was five when her maternal grandfather sexually abused her for over a year when her mother used to go to work.

Life has never been the same for Smitha, a teacher, ever since she found out the truth. Kinship for her is now fraught with minefields. For, she is waging a war against her parents and siblings to protect the life and rights of her daughter.

"I am a single mother and had been staying with my parents for over three years. Shrija was a very talkative and playful child but she suddenly stopped talking or interacting with anyone about six-seven months back. She just wanted to move out of my parents' house. I asked her the reason but she did not open up. One day, I slowly gained her confidence, and she broke down. She told me that 'grandpa is touching me down' (private parts)," Smitha says.

But a bigger shock was in store for Smitha when she found out that her mother knew about her father's crime but kept quiet. Her elder brother and sister refused to stand by her, saying it will tarnish the family's reputation.

"I had no option but to go to the police against my father and family. I reached the police station around 2pm that day but my FIR was registered only at 10pm. The officials 'tried to convince' me that I must not bring out my family matter in public and sort out the issue at home. But I stood by my daughter and lodged the FIR," she says.

Her family went absconding and there has been no progress in the case for over four months now. "Had I not been supported by volunteers and counsellors of Enfold Trust, I would not have been able to fight this battle. Shrija is slowly coming to terms with the outrage and is now going out to play with friends. But she has become far too mature for her age," she says.

(Names have been changed to protect identity)

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21-year-old girl held for Facebook post questioning Mumbai's 'Bal Thackeray shutdown'

MUMBAI: Police on Sunday arrested a 21-year-old girl for questioning the total shutdown in the city for Bal Thackeray's funeral on her Facebook account.

Another girl who 'liked' the comment was also arrested.

The duo were booked under Section 295 (a) of the IPC (for hurting religious sentiments ) and Section 64 (a) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Though the girl withdrew her comment and apologized, a mob of some 2,000 Shiv Sena workers attacked and ransacked her uncle's orthopaedic clinic at Palghar, north of Mumbai.

Both the girls have been released on bail within hours, according to media reports.

The 21-year-old arrested for her Facebook post was among many who aired opinions on social networking sites.

"Her comment said people like Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a 'bandh' (city shutdown) for that," Police Inspector Uttam Sonawane told the Mumbai Mirror.

Despite widespread concerns, there were no reports of unrest in Mumbai itself on the day of Bal Thackeray's crematon.

In recent months, the country has shown sensitivity to criticism of its politicians, sparking criticism in turn from freedom of speech campaigners.

In September, campaigners were outraged by the arrest in Mumbai on charges of sedition of a cartoonist for his anti-corruption drawings. The charges were later dropped.

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Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn films lose crores

Following Bal Thackeray's demise, theatres cancelled shows adding to the losses

They had been engrossed in media warfare to ensure maximum eyeballs for their respective Diwali release. But little did Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn know what destiny had in store.

Despite releasing on a Tuesday, the beginning of a long festive week, Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Son Of Sardaar did not really get off to a flying start. The very next day, the films were dealt a blow after news of Shiv Sena Supremo Balasaheb Thackeray's critical health started filtering out of his Bandra East residence, Matoshree. When he passed away on Saturday afternoon, the city came to a standstill with theatres pulling down the shutters. The Diwali releases had approximately lost out on a net collection of Rs 16 crore by then.

Reportedly, theatres in Mumbai and other towns in Maharashtra - Pune, Nasik, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur, Satara, Nagpur, Amravati, Akola and Jalgaon cancelled movie shows adding to the films' losses.

Over the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) the loss ratio for JTHJ and SOS was estimated to be 7:9. In fact, according to leading distributor Ramesh Sippy the two films put together have lost out on Rs 12 crore.

This was further endorsed by trade expert Taran Adarsh. However, another leading distributor Devendra Shah said, "I think Rs 12 crore is an understatement. The two films must have easily suffered to the tune of Rs 16-18 crore."

Explaining his take, Shah added, "Many did not get to see the films on Tuesday or Wednesday owing to Diwali celebrations. People had planned to watch JTHJ or SOS over the weekend."An insider from the Son Of Sardaar team confirmed that the film has lost out on Rs 7 crore.

Owner of the leading single screen chain Gaiety-Galaxy, Manoj Desai told us, "We would surely have had 100 per cent occupancy on Saturday and Sunday. But honestly, I wouldn't like to talk about the losses the films have suffered. We closed the theatres as a mark of respect to Balasaheb." Anand Vishal, Head Of Operations at Fun Republic shared similar sentiment.

As far as exhibitors are concerned, Girish Wankhede of Cinemax India, was more forthcoming. "We had to cancel eight shows in 66 screens in Maharashtra. We expected occupancy of 55-60 per cent over the weekend, hence I would say that we lost out on a collection of nearly Rs 2 crore, which if we share 50 per cent with the distributor, implies we registered a dip of Rs 1 crore," he said.

At the time of going to press, theatres across Maharashtra were in a dilemma if they would function on Monday. Wankhede from Cinemax confirmed, "We shall take stock of the situation around midnight.

We have been inundated with calls asking for a refund. We shall return the ticket amount for the shows, which we were unable to screen. It's a very tricky situation. Nobody must have thought that two such big films will be stopped in their tracks."

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Ponty Chadha killed in shootout with brother

NEW DELHI: His life was like a script from a Bollywood thriller. And it also ended like one. Liquor baron, real estate magnate and owner of Wave multiplexes, Gurdeep Singh Chadha, better known as Ponty Chadha, died in a hail of bullets at the hands of his own brother Hardeep at his swank and sprawling south Delhi farmhouse on Saturday afternoon.

Hardeep was also killed in the sensational gunfight at Chhatarpur involving a posse of PSOs, guards and supporters who were armed with sophisticated weaponry, including 9mm pistols and even an AK-47 rifle.

The two brothers were embroiled in a bitter property dispute over the Wave empire — estimated at anywhere between Rs 6,000 crore and Rs 20,000 crore — since the death of their father, Kulwant Singh Chadha last year. Highly-placed sources said that Hardeep had phoned a media baron in Punjab earlier in the morning and told him that "he was going to finally settle the dispute with Ponty today".

Cops claimed that both sides had "planned in advance to settle scores.'' The shootout lasted for over half-an-hour from 11.55am to 12.28pm.

The brothers lived at 21 Central Lane DLF Farms, but came to another farm nearby this morning with their band of armed supporters. "Ponty came to farm No 42 with about 30-40 men in Land Cruisers, Mercedes and a Tata 407 tempo. He wanted to take possession of the farm house and lock the rooms being used by his brother. Hardeep arrived on the scene after being informed of this by his guards. He argued with Ponty for a few minutes and then fired the first bullet," said a senior police officer, adding the facts were still being verified. Hardeep was gunned down by a personal security officer accompanying Ponty.

The killing of Ponty — who was known for his fondness for Armani suits — brought down the curtains on a life that sounds like a Harold Robbins novel, only more incredible.

The 55-year-old businessman, who spent his early youth selling snacks with his father at a country liquor shop, went on to preside over a business empire that stretched across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarkhand, Haryana and Rajasthan and had politicians from every political hue - Mulayam to Mayawati, Amarinder Singh to Sukhbir Badal — eating out of his hands.

It certainly helped that that he had a finger in every business pie — liquor retail, real estate, film production and distribution, sugar mills, distilleries, multiplexes, paper mills, soft drinks, poultry, even schools.

Ponty Chadha, originally from Moradabad, always kept a low profile. He would quietly visit the UP chief minister at Lucknow at 6am and sign business deals at his farmhouse in Delhi two hours later. He also had street smartness. Income tax raids to his company's offices were futile. It was later discovered that Ponty's men often conducted "in-house raids" in the company's various offices and commercial units. A group of auditors and executives would clean up the office computers. The books, as a result, were always clean.

The Chadha family, three brothers - Ponty (chairman), Rajinder Singh Chadha (managing director), Hardeep Chadha (executive director) and Ponty's son Manpreet 'Monty' Singh Chadha (joint MD) ran the Wave Inc empire. Ponty, as mentioned in the company website, had "the supervisory charge of group's businesses and is executive head of all expansion and diversification programmes. With extensive relationships in trade and government, Gurdeep Singh is preceded by his reputation".

A source close to the family says that tension between the two brothers had reached breaking point after Hardeep apparently sold off a paper mill in Bilaspur without informing Ponty and also underquoted the price when questioned later. It did not help that the two brothers were forced to stay together at the same farmhouse at the insistence of their mother.

Liquor biz may take a hit, but realty safe

Ponty Chadha's death is unlikely to impact his group's real estate business as badly as his liquor distribution and retail businesses, according to sources.

Managing a liquor business is especially difficult as it requires keeping taxmen, police and politicians happy. Besides, as one of the sources put it, most transactions are in cash, for which a company has to manage its own house well. Ponty pulled all of it easily because he knew the liquor business like the back of his hand and was the master of the game.

As Ponty quickly made mega bucks, he diversified into real estate and introduced son Monty to the sector. Though new to the field, Monty started independently taking most of the key decisions, a self-reliance that could come in handy now.

The group has a land bank worth more than Rs 35,000 crore in form of prime plots in NCR and Mohali and shouldn't have much of a problem in completing ongoing projects. Monty, who dropped out of Welham Boys' School after Class 9, is said to be so upbeat about the real estate venture that he is sure it would grow faster than the group's traditional businesses.

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Film with Salman not going to happen, says Shah Rukh

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan says his longstanding "disagreements" with Salman Khan will not come to an end courtesy a film, a filmmaker or an actress. And neither would it be on a public platform.

The two Bollywood icons, who did films like "Karan Arjun" and "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" together, had a major fight in 2008 at Salman's then girlfriend, Katrina Kaif's birthday bash.

Even as Katrina hopes to produce a movie featuring Shah Rukh and Salman, SRK says it's not going to happen - not at anyone's behest.

"My thing is that we had a little bit of personal issue. This is not the first time. It was four years ago and it had been before. We (Salman) have been very close for 20 years and even more. From the time I came, I respect his family and the fact that they gave me so much of love. I can never be disrespectful about that. Having said that, we have grown together."

"We have certain things similar and certain things which we completely disagree on. So, at this point of time we are at that plain of disagreement and there might come a time when these things will get resolved, not resolved... but it will never be on a public platform. It will be a personal thing," Shah Rukh said at an event in New Delhi.

He is assured that "it will not be if a producer, director casts me in a film, even if it is Katrina Kaif."

"It will never get resolved if two or three people came in between and say 'resolve it'... I don't think a film is going to bring us together and resolve anything," added Shah Rukh.

He says people must stop expecting to see the two actors together as it "looks like a Yash Chopra hero and heroine have got separated."

"It can be that we board the same plane and start chatting, but not for a film. But I don't think it will happen now. We don't really sit and think of it," added King Khan, who was at the summit with Katrina, one of the leading ladies of his latest release " Jab Tak Hai Jaan".

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Man who shot Ponty Chadha's brother Hardeep identified

NEW DELHI: Fifteen people were picked up for questioning in connection with the killing of controversial liquor and real estate baron Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep, who were locked in a dispute over ownership of a farmhouse in south Delhi on Saturday.

Investigators said they were looking into call records of Ponty, whose real name is Gurdeep, and his brother to build the exact sequence of events that led to the incident in which guards of both the brothers opened fire.

Initial investigations have revealed that Ponty's men had gone to the disputed farmhouse and threw out Hardeep's staff and got the gates locked yesterday morning, a senior police official said.

Hardeep was not at the farmhouse at the time of the incident and was in a meeting in Noida.

Before noon, the official said, Ponty had called a friend, who is member of UP Minorities Commission, and told him that they will take a round of the farmhouse.

Hardeep also got to know about Ponty's men taking possession of the farmhouse and he abruptly ended the meeting to rush to the spot.

Ponty along with the Commission member and Hardeep reached the farmhouse almost at the same time. Ponty's men had then opened the gate.

In a fit of rage, the official claimed, Hardeep allegedly opened fire with bullets first hitting Ponty's guard Narender and then Ponty himself.

Then the guards from both sides opened fire, the official said adding the PSOs given to the brothers by Punjab Police were not involved in the firing.

The official said one of those questioned told police that the PSO of the Commission member opened fire in retaliation.

This is to be verified, the official said. "We are questioning people. Call records are also being checked," the official said.

The family of Hardeep could not be contacted for comments. This was the second incident of firing at Chadha's residence.

On October 5, gunshots were reported from his house in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad district.

The three Chadha brothers - Ponty, Hardeep and Rajinder - were jointly managing the Rs. 6,000-crore Wave Inc, formerly Chadha Group, which has diverse business interests in fields ranging from distilleries, multiplexes, sugar to paper mills.

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Bal Thackeray, Shiv Sena supremo, dies

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, who has been critically ill for the last few days, has died on Saturday at 3:30pm, his doctor announced.

He was 86. "He had suffered a cardiac arrest. We could not revive him despite our best efforts. He breathed his last at around 3:30pm," Dr Jalil Parkar, who treated the Sena supremo, told reporters after emerging from Thackeray residence this evening.

Thackeray had been suffering from respiratory problems and pancreatic disease. He is survived by sons Jaidev and Uddhav, who is the executive president of the party.

Senior party leaders and Bal Thackeray's nephew Raj Thackeray along with family and other political leaders rushed to Matoshree.

Meanwhile, security has been stepped up in the metropolis in the wake of Thackeray's death. The police also made the mediapersons move to a distance from Matoshree.

Thousands of supporters massed outside his residence as his death was announced at 4.45 pm to a shocked Maharashtra, whose political stage he dominated for over four decades with his hard, rightwing political views that often rocked the entire nation.

He was born on January 23, 1926. Thackeray started his career as a political cartoonist.

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