Uttarakhand govt looks at sacking Namdhari

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Monday said his government might explore ways to remove Sukhdev Singh Namdhari from the post of chairman of Uttarakhand Minorities Commission.

Namdhari was an eyewitness to Chhattarpur farmhouse shootout, in which liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep were killed. Namdhari's securityman, Sachin Tyagi, had also reportedly opened fire in self-defence during the shootout.

After a state Cabinet meeting on Monday, Bahuguna said he will explore ways to get Namdhari removed from his present post. Sources said Uttarakhand Police has asked the Bajhpur police station of Udham Singh Nagar district to send details about the cases lodged against Namdhari.

Namdhari is resident of Bajhpur police station area.

Station house officer of Bajhpur, B R Arya, said there are cases against Namdhari. "But I can't give you information about the status of those cases," Arya said.

Namdhari was appointed the chairman of Uttarakhand Minorities Commission in March 2010, during the tenure of former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. "This is a Constitutional post. His tenure would end in March 2013. It would not be an easy task for the state government to remove him before the end of his tenure," a source in the government said.

Police sources said Namdhari came close to Ponty about a decade ago. "Namdhari helped Ponty in his mining business," a police source said.

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