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Ponty Chadha

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Ponty Chadha
Born
Gurdeep Singh Chadha

22 October 1960 (1960-10-22)
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Died17 November 2012 (2012-11-18) (aged 52)
New Delhi, India
Occupations
  • Industrialist
  • philanthropist
SpouseJatinder Kaur Chadha
ChildrenManpreet and Harsheen
Parent(s)Kulwant Singh Chadha (father)
Prakash Kaur (mother)
RelativesRaju Chadha (brother)
Hardeep Chadha (brother)

Gurdeep Singh Chadha (22 October 1960 – 17 November 2012), also known as Ponty Chadha, was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist who owned the Wave Group.[1] Chadha was noted for his success in the alcohol industry, particularly for having alcohol distribution monopolies in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, and for his political influence.[1][2]

Early life

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Gurdeep "Ponty" Singh Chadha was born on 22 October 1960, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. During the Partition of India in 1947, Chadha's father, Kulwant Singh Chadha, migrated from what subsequently became Pakistan. Chadha had two younger brothers, Rajinder and Hardeep. As a child, Chadha would help his father sell snacks in front of a country liquor shop.[3] In 1968, Kulwant, later started a small jaggery mill, where Chadha and his siblings worked as well.[4]

Business career

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Noted as a wealthy and powerful businessman, Chadha's business interests were in liquor, real estate, multiplexes, malls and film production.[5] Initially in his career, he started and grew his liquor business. Chadha himself stated that he later diversified into other industries to rehabilitate the negative reputation he had gained from his liquor business.[5] His business interests were jointly owned with his brothers, Raju and Hardeep; however, Chadha was noted as the founder and overall head of the family's businesses.[6]

Liquor

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Chadha gained a strong presence Uttar Pradesh's liquor industry in 2007, when he began expanding his father's wholesale liquor business.[2] By 2009, Chadha's liquor business gained a monopoly, first in wholesale trade and then in retail, in Uttar Pradesh.[2] He was granted wholesale liquor distribution rights by the then Bahujan Samaj Party government in Uttar Pradesh in 2009, which was the first ever time that an individual business was given full control of liquor distribution in a state.[2] Chadha also gained a liquor distribution monopoly in Punjab, and due to his political influence across multiple political parties, he managed to maintain this monopoly under successive state governments.[7] Besides India, Chadha's distribution network covered Nepal, Bhutan, United States, UK and several other Arabian and Asian countries.[8]

Real estate

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Wave Infratech is the real estate arm of the Chadha Group. Starting off with commercial and residential projects and malls in Noida, the group expanded to Punjab, Gurgaon, and other parts of North India.[9] It tied up with IBM to build India's first smart city, Wave City, Ghaziabad.[10][11] Other ventures include Wave One, Wave Cinemas, Wave Malls, Wave City, Wave Estate, and Wave City Center.[8] Chadha group also enjoyed a hold over the mining business in Bundelkhand and Sonbhadra regions of Uttar Pradesh.[12]

Other businesses

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Chadha's Wave Group was also involved in financing and distributing Bollywood movies, and he acquired two teams in an Indian hockey league.[5]

Assets investigation controversy

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In 2021, it was reported that cash worth Rs 110 million, jewellery and fixed deposits were recovered from Chadha's properties, and 13 of his bank lockers confiscated.[13] However, various media reports were contradictory. About two weeks later, they reported that almost nothing was recovered.[14][15] However, there were questions raised over the perfectly timed incidents just before the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections and how the worth of seized assets was so precisely quoted within a few hours of the raid.[1]

Philanthropy

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Ponty established Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan in July 1999, a non-profit special education institution in Noida with the mission to educate and prepare special children to achieve physical, social and financial independence to the best of their abilities, in honor of his right-hand man Niketan Sawhney being shot and killed in a standoff with a rival business group in December 1997.[16]

The school aims at total self-reliance and its curriculum is specifically tailored for that. Alongside academic learning, it trains children on art and handicraft for all-round development. Dedicated outlets at Wave Malls further promote the merchandise produced in-house by the children.[17][18][19]

Personal life

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Chadha was married to Jatinder Kaur Chadha and had two children: Manpreet "Monty" Singh Chadha and Harsheen Chadha.[20][21] His niece, Tanya Chadha, the daughter of his brother Raju, married Adhiraj Khanna, the son of politician and businessman Arvind Khanna.[22][23]

Death

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Ponty Chadha, died on 17 November 2012 and his death remains mired in mystery. The cause of the death is said to be crossfire between him and brother Hardeep, though varied accounts of the incident can be found. One of the arguments is that disputed ownership over a piece of property led to the crossfire; speculations in the media of the brothers being in loggerheads over the family business were also rife, but all these have remained largely unconfirmed in the public domain.[14][24][25]

Moreover, sources debating the incident, including Taranjit Singh, who is claimed to be a close family relative, confirm that Ponty was handicapped in both hands and could not possibly have fired at his brother.[1][26] It was also later established when during the investigations it came out that Hardeep had initiated the crossfire.[27] In January 2014, murder charges against all the 21 accused were dropped by a trial court in Delhi, including Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, ex-chairman of Uttarakhand's minority commission who was arrested on 23 November for shooting at Hardeep Chadha.[28]

However, charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder were invoked against Namdhari and his Personal Security Officer, Sachin Tyagi while the 19 other accused were charged with attempt to murder.[29] The Delhi Police, in July 2014, contested the ruling in the Delhi High Court which accepted the plea and served fresh notices to the 21 accused.[30] During its investigations, Delhi Police also discovered that armed PSOs (Personal Security Officers) commissioned with the Punjab Police were accompanying the Chadha brothers beyond their jurisdiction. An intervention from the Home Ministry has been sought as to why Delhi Police was not intimated.[31]

Chadha's business interests were divided between his son, Monty, and his brother, Raju.[32] Approximately 64% of Chadha's business interests, comprising real estate and sugar mills, went to his son Monty, while approximately 36%, comprising liquor and film distribution, went to his brother Raju.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Ponty Chadha, how he mixed power, politics and alcohol commerce - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Jeelani, Gulam (18 November 2012). "Ponty Chadha was the king of good times in UP". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  3. ^ TNN (17 November 2012). "Ponty Chadha: Who is Ponty Chadha". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  4. ^ PTI (17 November 2012). "Ponty Chadha: Ponty Chadha : A controversial figure in business world". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Ray, Shantanu Guha (20 November 2012). "Ponty Chadha: The 'strange' life of slain Indian tycoon". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  6. ^ Jenkins, Cordelia; Malik, Aman (1 December 2012). "Ponty Chadha: The man who would be king". Mint. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Ponty Chadha's death puts focus on his strong Punjab connections". NDTV. 19 November 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b "India's Leading business conglomerate". The Wave Group. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Wave Cinemas". Company Website. Wave. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  10. ^ "IBM News room - 2011-11-21 IBM Helps India's Wave Inc Build Smarter Township - United States". 03.ibm.com. 21 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  11. ^ Rai, Manmohan (4 July 2013). "Wave City ties up with SBI for financing loans". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  12. ^ Bhatt, Virendra Nath (18 November 2012). "Ponty Chadha: The unchallenged liquor baron of UP". Tehelka. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Ponty Chadha, UP's liquor and real estate baron - News18". Ibnlive.in.com. 17 November 2012. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  14. ^ a b "Ponty Chadha: The 'strange' life of slain Indian tycoon". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Behind full Ponty flop,his 2-yr raid rehearsals". The Indian Express. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan - Charitable School for Disabled Children". Mbcnschool.org. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  17. ^ "Noida Diary: MATA BHAGWANTI CHADHA NIKETAN (MBCN) - Charitable Special School in Noida". Noidadiary.blogspot.in. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  18. ^ Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan. "Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan - Manufacturer from Noida, India | Profile". Indiamart.com. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  19. ^ "A special school for special children". The Times of India. 4 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  20. ^ Dasgupta, Piyali (10 February 2012). "Ponty Chadha's daughter's wedding in Delhi". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  21. ^ DHNS (25 November 2012). "Families of both brothers unite to cope with loss". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  22. ^ Zatakia, Ila (16 June 2021). "Inside Tanya Chadha and Adhiraj Khanna's beautiful mid-pandemic wedding in New Delhi". Vogue India. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Spin The Wheel". Mumbai Mirror. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Ponty Chadha, brother Hardeep killed in family feud | Zee News". Zeenews.india.com. 17 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  25. ^ "Ponty Chadha Killing: Ponty Chadha, brother killed in shooting at farmhouse in south Delhi". The Times of India. 17 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Ponty Chadha's hands had a disability problem: Close relative". Daily News and Analysis. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  27. ^ "Ponty Chadha death: Brother Hardeep fired first, say police". Ndtv.com. 18 November 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  28. ^ "Namdhari fired at Ponty Chadha's brother Hardeep: Police". The Times of India. 24 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  29. ^ "Ponty Chadha case: Court drops murder charges against 21 accused". The Indian Express. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  30. ^ "Ponty Chadha killing: Notice to accused on police plea". Zeenews.india.com. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  31. ^ "Ponty Chadha shootout: Home ministry's intervention sought". The Economic Times. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  32. ^ a b Sarkar, John (13 August 2019). "Wave Group inks expansion plans after split". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
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