Ponty Chadha Land Cruiser: Fingerprint samples point to more than four men

Experts lift 13 prints from SUV, 11 from Scorpio and 3 from Hardeep's Mercedes

In a new turn to investigations into the killing of liquor baron Gurdeep alias Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep, fingerprint experts have lifted sets of prints that suggest more than four persons were present in the Land Cruiser that Ponty used to reach the Chhattarpur farmhouse where he was gunned down last Saturday.

Investigators have all along maintained that four persons were in the Land Cruiser — Ponty, his driver, Uttarakhand official Sukhdev Singh Namdhari and Namdhari's PSO Sachin Tyagi.

Sources said forensic officials collected 13 fingerprints from the Land Cruiser and 11 from the Scorpio. The Mercedes, in which Hardeep was travelling, had three fingerprints. Five prints were lifted from the Ford Figo in which Ponty's manager Narender was travelling.

A police source said: "These are the exact number of fingerprints, which experts have taken from the four cars. The prints that they have lifted are all fresh. Another Uttarakhand official is believed to have been in one of the cars. The fingerprints will authenticate this. The prints from the Scorpio will help ascertain if any person with a police record was in the car on that day."

Police have received a copy of the two post-mortem reports from AIIMS.

Sources said the reports note that Ponty has seven bullet injuries — four bullets remained in the body and three had pierced through. The paths of two bullets were traced in Hardeep's body. Both had pierced through the thoracic region.

Family members told police that Ponty and Hardeep had been having disagreements for three months. Ponty had reportedly given a factory to Hardeep. When the factory began to make losses, Hardeep sold it three months ago. This led to a disagreement which was settled by family members, police were told.

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