Track2Realty: Gurdeep Singh Chadha alias Ponty Chadha, who was killed along with his brother after they fired at each other inside a farmhouse in Delhi’s Chhattarpur area on Saturday, Nov 17, was the sole liquor distributor in Uttar Pradesh. His other business interests included real estate, sugar mills and film production, which he used to look after along with his two brothers – Hardeep and Rajinder. The business empire was reportedly worth Rs 6,000 crore.
Ponty was one of the three sons of Chadha Group founder Kulwant Singh Chadha, who died in 2011. After the death of their father, the three brothers – Ponty, Hardeep and Rajinder – were jointly managing the Chadha Group, which had been consolidated under the Wave brand. The group was headed by Ponty, who also ran a popular chain of multiplexes under the Wave brand in the National Capital Region.
Ponty was known to be close to the Samajwadi Party but after Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party came to power, he changed his loyalties. His business also flourished during the BSP regime and Ponty floated 16 companies right after Mayawati took over as the chief minister in 2007. These companies were given contracts ranging from real estate to sugar mills to film production and distribution.
After the Samajwadi Party returned to power in March 2012, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that he would hold a probe against Ponty and his wealth but not much was done following reports that the party had patched up with the controversial businessman.
Earlier, in February when Uttar Pradesh was gearing up for Assembly Elections, the Income Tax department had conducted raids at 17 locations across the state and New Delhi including a prime shopping mall – Centrestage Mall in Noida – and farmhouses owned by Ponty. After the searches in February, the Income Tax department had said that it had seized Rs 11 crore in cash, jewellery and fixed deposits and sealed 13 bank lockers. Three months after the raids, an Income Tax official said that Ponty had disclosed an “unrecorded income of Rs 175 crore” to them.
With both Ponty and his brother Hardeep killing each other over a business feud at their Delhi’s Chhattarpur farmhouse, it is their third brother Rajinder and Ponty’s son Manpreet Singh Chadha who are left to claim their family business empire. Sources, however, say that Ponty’s brothers were not very happy with the rising stature of Manpreet alias Monty in the business. Harpreet’s lawyer Gaurang Kanth also said after the incident that the brothers since their father’s death had been trying to divide the property but the discussions weren’t moving forward.
Chadha business empire commercial properties:
Centerstage Mall, Noida, UP – 3,50,000 sq ft
Wave Mall, Kaushambi, UP – 97,000 sq ft
Wave Mall, Lucknow UP – 3,14,000 sq ft
Wave Mall, Ludhiana, Punjab – 4,70,000 sq ft
Wave Mall, Moradabad, UP – 1,50,000 sqft
Wave Cinemas,, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi – 25,000 sq ft
Residential properties
Fairlakes, Mohali, Punjab – 264 acre
Wave Greens, Moradabad, UP – 52 acre
Plumeria Garden Estate, Greater Noida, UP – 29 acre
Hi-Tech City, Ghaziabad – 4,800 acre
Upcoming Wave City Center – Noida
Industries
Wave Industries, Dhanaura, UP
AB Sugars, Dasuya
AB Grain, Gurdaspur, Punjab
Chadha Papers, Bilaspur, Uttarakhand
Manorama Paper, UP
Wave Beverages, Amritsar, Punjab
Amritsar Crown Cap, Punjab